The Ride
by NogeiloGirl
Summary: Vince has big plans for the Hardys, but what if the Hardys don’t share the same vision. Jeff’s ex-girlfriend comes back to town, shaking things up, while Stephanie and Paul plan their wedding. Amy’s past comes back to haunt her. Hang on tigh
1. Hey, What’s the Big Idea!

All of the people in this story are owned by Vince McMahon and the WWF, except for Melanie, Uncle Wes, and Michael.  
  
If you would like to use my story, please ask me first.  
  
Please review, I love feedback! Constructive criticism is fine, but no flames please.  
  
This is the Sequel to Shakedown  
  
  
The Ride  
  
  
Chapter 1: Hey, What's the Big Idea!  
  
Jeff was on the phone talking to Michael.   
"Hey sport, how's your Mom feeling?"  
"Oh, she's doing great, but guess what? Daddy took me fishing today!"   
Just then Jeff heard a click and Uncle Wes's voice came on the line.   
"Ever since he got back, he's been begging me to take him fishing," Uncle Wes said with a laugh. "Listen," Uncle Wes said, turning serious, "I really appreciate you, Matt, and Amy keeping the kids for us, while Carrie was in the hospital."  
"No problem, we all had a blast, except for the earthquake of course."  
"Speaking of the devil, ever since the earthquake, Michael has been hanging out with Lisa more, he even asked her to go fishing with us!"   
Jeff laughed, "That's good." His thoughts drifted to the earthquake incident. It too had brought he and Matt closer together.   
Michael broke into the conversation and Jeff's thoughts, his voice all excited, "And guess what Unca Jeffy, when Daddy and I went fishing the pier didn't fall apart either."   
Jeff laughed at the childlike innocence in his voice, "Well I'm glad".. Just then the phone went dead, "What the.. Matt the phone went dead again, so I'm going to call the electric company tomorrow morning," Jeff said as he walked into the living room.   
"Mm hmm," Matt moaned.  
"Aw, Jeez, could you guys break it up for just a few minutes. I know you two have to come up for air sometime."  
"Well, at least we're not playing tonsil hockey," Matt said accusingly.  
"Hey, Nora and I do not play tonsil hockey!" Jeff said defensively. I respect her too much, It's, well with Nora it's different," Jeff replied, struggling for the right words.   
"Well, what about that girl in high school?" Matt pushed.   
"Hey, don't go there," Jeff said and he walked back into the kitchen.   
"Gotcha," Matt said with a grin, as he glanced towards the kitchen doorway.   
Amy buried her head in Matt's shoulder, "All I want is a few hours alone with you, on a real date, at a place outside the house, outside the ring, with very few people around," she said with a sigh.   
"I know sweetie," Matt said, kissing her fingertips lightly. "I promise the next chance we get, we'll go out on a real date all by our lonesome selves."  
"I dare say we'll be lonesome," Amy said, smiling.   
The next day the electricians came out to fix the telephone wire.   
"The line's been cut-again!" the stocky electrician notified his partner as he climbed down the pole. "What are these guys doing, cutting it themselves!" he said, running a hand over his prickly beard. The taller electrician shrugged, "I don't know, but we're gonna have to tell em. This is the fourth time it's happened in the past 2 months."   
Jeff was just getting ready to watch an all new exciting episode of the "Crocodile Hunter," when a knock sounded on the door. Jeff sighed and laid his head back on the couch for a second. *15 minutes of peace would be nice,* he thought to himself as he opened the door. He was surprised to see the electricians standing there.   
"Hey guys, is something wrong?" he asked, a puzzled look on his face.  
"This is the last time we're fixing your telephone wire. This is the fourth time we've had to replace a cut wire."  
"Whoa, wait a second, what are you talking about?" Jeff asked, irritated.   
"I'm talking about your electrical wire. Every time we've been out to repair it, we can't because it's been severed, cut straight through!" the stout man declared.  
"Okay, I get the picture," Jeff said sourly. "Look, I'll make sure it doesn't happen again," he told the electricians. "You can count on it," he said to himself as he dialed the local police station.  
Matt came home, only to find a police car in the driveway. He dropped the grocery bags he had been carrying, and raced towards the front door. Fear for his brother welled up inside of him, as he burst through the open doorway.   
"Jeff!" he called. "Jeff!" he yelled again, panic welling up inside of him. Just then he felt someone tap him on the shoulder. Matt whirled around, "Jeff," he said, taking a deep breath, "your okay."  
"Yeah, why wouldn't I be?" Jeff asked, with a puzzled look on his face.   
"The front door, it's"..  
Jeff cut him off, "Oh, that's right, I forgot to close the front door. Sorry about"..  
"Don't worry about it, I'm just glad you're alright," Matt said, putting his hands on Jeff's shoulders. Jeff looked at Matt in surprise.   
"Yeah, yeah, I'm fine. I called the police," Jeff said as they walked towards the back of the townhouse, "because of this," he said, holding up a piece of severed wire.   
"What the heck, it's been cut!" Matt said angrily.   
"It's not the first time either," Jeff said raising an eyebrow, "this is the fourth time it's been cut." Before Matt could respond, a policeman walked over to them.  
"Well, there really isn't anything we can do at this point. If you see a strange person around or if something happens," he trailed off, "let us know," the officer said casually. He walked to his car, got in and drove off.   
"A lot of help he was," Jeff said in disgust.   
"Telling us something we already know," Matt said clenching his fists. Jeff thought back to the explosion, when Chris's car had been blown up 3 months ago.   
"Matt, what if the same person that blew up Chris's car is the same one that did this?" Jeff said, looking at Matt intently. Matt looked away from Jeff, "I hope not, though I think it's a very real possibility it might be Monica," he said thoughtfully.  
  
Later that night:  
"Get this, for some strange reason Vince has us traveling to Maine by train instead of by plane," Jeff commented.   
Matt shrugged, "Probably because it 's cheaper he said with a grin. "It's a good thing we packed our winter clothes, I think I'm going to throw some long underwear in my suitcase though. Jeff, do you have the electric heating blanket in yours?"  
"Yeah, I put it in my suitcase yesterday," Jeff said distractedly.   
"Yeah, I don't understand why Vince would book us for Maine-in the middle of December!" It's freezing co".. Matt stopped.  
"Something wrong Jeff?" Matt inquired.  
"Yeah, Vince said he has some exciting news for us, and that he'll tell us when we get to Maine."   
"So what's the problem buddy," Matt said, patting him on the back, "It's Vince we're talking about here, so it's gotta be good."   
"I hope your right Matt," Jeff said uneasily. He knew Matt wouldn't understand, so he kept his thoughts to himself. *I just have a bad feeling about this whole thing that I can't shake.*   
The guys got up at sunrise the next morning and Matt made a hearty breakfast of ham and eggs, since Jeff was not the world's greatest cook.   
Dressed warmly, Matt and Jeff piled into their Suzuki X-L7and drove out towards Amy's place. Matt jumped out of the passenger's seat and knocked on Amy's door. She opened the door with one hand, while trying to put her blue, suede jacket on with the other.   
"Here let me help," Matt said, as he helped her get the other sleeve on.  
"Thanks," she said with a smile, as he ushered her into the sport utility vehicle.   
Once they got on the train, they were all so tired that the rhythmic clickety- clack of the wheels easily put them to sleep. Amy woke up with a start as she heard the train whistle blow. *What's going on,* she thought. That's when she saw it: the lush, rust-colored hills with the brightly colored trees dotting the background. "It's beautiful!" she breathed. "Guys," she said, turning to Matt and Jeff, "look at the scenery, isn't it gorgeous?"  
I never get tired of this back home or anywhere else for that matter.  
"It is peaceful and serene," Jeff agreed, rubbing his eyes sleepily.   
"Jeff," Amy asked suddenly, "did you ever ask the museum curator about your paintings?"  
"No, not yet, but I'm definitely thinking about it," Jeff admitted.  
After a 6 hour train ride, the wrestlers finally reached Belfast, Maine, in the late afternoon, around 4 p.m. When they arrived at the hotel, the wrestlers didn't know how Vince had pulled it off, but somehow he managed to snag a sprawling plantation-like inn.   
"It's beautiful!" Amy breathed, setting her luggage down.  
"If you think the outside is beautiful, take a look at the inside," Vince said. He ushered Amy, Matt, and Jeff through the French glass doors. Matt grimaced, as he was carrying both his and Amy's luggage, while Jeff and Amy looked around in awe. The inn managed to combine country charm with 14th century art. Jeff slowly walked around the area of the lobby, enthralled with the paintings.   
"I can't believe this," Jeff said, "this is amazing!" Matt couldn't help but smile, Jeff looked like a little child at Christmas time.  
"Well, I'm glad you like it, but I believe my arms are going to fall off, so take a suitcase would ya," he said, handing Jeff a duffel bag.  
"Listen, when you're finished settling in, meet me downstairs on the verandah." Vince said. They nodded and began to ascend the polished mahogany staircase. As soon as Amy entered her room, she dropped what little luggage she had and raced over to the window. The view was breathtaking. As she looked down she could see the rolling hills in the distance, topped with a white cap of snow. Just below them sat a pond glazed over with ice and surrounded by a growth of brightly colored trees and bushes. Just then, she felt arms slip around her waist.   
"Mm, Matt, isn't it gorgeous? No answer. Matt?" she asked, puzzled. She tried turning in his arms so she could see his face, but instantly she felt Matt's arms drop from her waist. Troubled, she rushed to the open doorway and looked both ways down the hall. "Matt!" Amy called from across the hall, "did you come in here just a second ago?"  
"No, but is that an invite," he said with a grin. "No, seriously, Jeff and I have been putting our clothes away."   
"Aagh! These are not mine," Jeff stated firmly as he came up behind Matt, holding up a pair of hot pink, lace thongs.   
"Give me that!" Amy said, her cheeks turning a deep shade of crimson. Amy marched across the hall, snatching the underwear out of Jeff's hand as she stormed past him. Amy stamped her foot in impatience.   
Trying to hide her embarrassment, Amy asked irritably, "Where is the rest of my luggage?" Jeff pointed over to the large suitcase over by his bed.   
"I'm going downstairs, see ya in a few," Jeff said.  
Matt stood behind Amy, watching her intently. Feeling uncomfortable, Matt asked, "You're not mad at Jeff are you?" Straightening up, Amy sighed and turned to look at Matt.  
"No, I'm just.. maybe it's jet lag." In an attempt to quell her anxiety, Amy told herself, "No use in worrying Matt over something I can't answer."   
"So, did Jeff go to meet Vince?" Amy asked. Matt nodded. She linked her arm through Matt's, smiling softly, "Guess we can't keep Vince waiting huh."   
When Matt and Amy reached the verandah, they found Jeff and Vince seated at a table near the back.   
"So, what's the big news?" Amy asked as Matt pulled out a chair for her.   
"Well, I think this may help further your careers in the WWF and I've talked this over with the creative writers, and they've given the go ahead," Vince babbled on. *Just get to the point Vince,* Jeff thought as he looked nervously at Amy and Matt, whose faces mirrored his own. "I'm splitting you three up. Jeff meet your new manager," Vince said proudly.   
A young woman stepped out of the shadows, "Hi Jeff," she said softly.   
"Melanie?" Jeff asked in surprise.  
  



	2. 

All of the people in this story are owned by Vince McMahon and the WWF, except for Melanie, Uncle Wes, and Michael.  
  
If you would like to use my story, please ask me first.  
  
Please review, I love feedback! Constructive criticism is fine, but no flames please.  
  
Chapter 2: Secrets  
  
"Mel, is that you?" Matt asked, a wide grin breaking across his face.   
"In the flesh," she said happily, spreading her arms out to give him a hug. Matt caught her up in a big bear hug and spun her around.  
"You look great," Matt said, finally releasing Melanie. Amy watched the scene guardedly, her arms folded across her chest. Matt turned to Amy and linked his fingers through hers.   
"Melanie, this is Amy, my girlfriend."  
"Nice to meet you," Melanie said, shaking her hand. Amy smiled warmly and nodded.   
"Well, I'll leave you all to get reacquainted," Vince said, starting to leave. Jeff quirked an eyebrow, excused himself, and walked briskly over to Vince.   
"How did you know that we're all friends?" Jeff asked suspiciously.  
"Melanie told me you were all friends in high school."  
"Oh," Jeff said, a bit relieved.   
"Why, what's wrong?" Do you have a problem with Melanie being your manager?" Vince asked.   
Jeff shrugged, "I don't know yet." Amy, Matt and Melanie walked over to Jeff and Vince.   
"So, how are the creative writers breaking us up?" Matt asked curiously. Looking uncomfortable, Vince glanced at his watch and said, "You should all get your scripts within the hour. Oh, sorry about what happened at your house. I hope the police find out who did it," he said with a wave as he walked off. Matt winced inwardly. *Oh, man, I'm in hot water now.* Puzzled, Amy looked at Matt and Jeff.   
"What's he talking about?" Amy asked, worry filling her gaze. "What happened to your house?"   
"You didn't tell her man?" Jeff asked in surprise. Starting to feel like a fool, Amy looked from Matt to Jeff and back again.   
"Tell me what ?" she asked. Sensing they needed some time alone, Jeff cocked his head to the side, and motioned for he and Melanie to leave.   
Jeff cleared his voice, "Uh, we'll see you guys in a bit, okay?"  
Amy nodded distractedly, twirling a lock of curly, red hair around her finger.   
He sighed, "I didn't want you worrying about it, so".. his voice trailed off. "All those power outages we'd been having at the house- is because someone cut our wire.  
Amy's eyes widened, "Your telephone wire?"  
Matt nodded, "This is the fourth time it's happened.   
Amy gasped, trying to process everything that just happened in the past few minutes. Watching her face, Matt was beginning to realize that he had done more harm than good by not telling her.   
"Why didn't you tell me? I mean, what bothers me, no hurts me the most, is that even Vince knew before I did. Jeff is like a brother to me and your more than that to me, but your still one of my best friends. What I'm trying to say, is I don't want to be the last to know, okay," she said intently, as she covered his hand with both of her own.   
Matt nodded. "I realize that I made things worse by not telling you. That stressed you out more than if I hadn't told you. I imagine you felt pretty foolish too," he said thoughtfully. She nodded, smiling slightly.   
"I think we need to be more open about communication," Matt said firmly.   
"I whole heartedly agree.   
"Here are your scripts for the show tonight guys," Shane said.  
  
Meanwhile:  
"So," Jeff said uncomfortably.  
"Look, I know your not comfortable with me here, but I needed to be someplace where I felt safe, warm"..  
"What do you mean," Jeff said looking at her sharply. "Is a criminal stalking you or something?" he demanded.   
"No," she said, laughing. "Next to my family and Greg, you and Matt have always been the people I feel most at home with. I came here to start new, fresh"..  
Jeff interrupted her, "Oh, did Greg get transferred here?"   
"No, Greg was killed in a boating accident, while on duty."  
"Melanie, oh man, I'm so sorry," Jeff said reaching for her. Melanie skillfully managed to move out of Jeff's reach. "It's okay, it's not your fault. He's been dead for 2 months now," she said, her voice breaking.   
"Why didn't you call us? You know we would have been there for you," Jeff said, chiding her.   
"I knew you had busy schedules and were well on your way to climbing the WWF ladder of success, and I didn't want to put more on your shoulders, figuratively speaking," she said with a small smile.   
He put an arm around her. "You could never be a burden to us Mellie," he said affectionately.   
"Good," she said, taking a deep breath, "because I'm pregnant with Greg's baby."   
As Jeff and Melanie walked back to the verandah, they heard Matt say, "I should have known something was up, by the way Vince responded to my question about the story lines."  
"We'll talk more about this later," Jeff said to Melanie as he tried to regain his composure.   
"What's up?" Jeff said casually when they reached the verandah.   
"Vince has Amy as my manager, along with keeping the story line of us being girlfriend and boyfriend." Melanie looked at Matt in confusion.  
"Since we're dating in real life, Vince thought it would be easier to just put that into the story lines," Matt explained.  
"But, we break up with you. Amy's going to come out looking like the bad guy in this. The whole thing is cockeyed. Take a look at the script," Matt said handing it to Jeff. Frowning, Jeff skimmed the script.  
"Yeah, you're right, this bites."  
"Stephanie being Vince's daughter and all, maybe she wouldn't mind helping us by trying to get the writers to change the script," Amy suggested hopefully.  
"Oh, I'm sure she's got pull alright, but chances are, she helped write this," Jeff said pointedly, poking at the paper with his finger.   
"Well, maybe we should just roll with it and see how it goes," Matt suggested. The others nodded in agreement. *Whew, tonight should be interesting,* Matt thought nervously.   
  
Right before the match:  
As the Hardys and Amy stood at the top of the ramp, Amy did not feel like smiling. *Darn it, I like working with both Matt and Jeff, I'm comfortable with them!* She thought angrily. As the roar of the crowd throbbed in her ears, Amy turned her attention to the many signs the fans were holding up. One in particular caught her eye: "Matt and Lita: is it the real deal or a storyline?"  
"The real deal," Amy shouted, to the young, excited girl, with a smile. The young teen's mouth dropped open, but composing herself, she waved to Amy, grinning from ear-to-ear. Amy waved back.   
"Turning to the guy next to her," the girl asked excitedly, "Did you see that? She really is involved with Matt and she waved to me! Isn't that like so cool!" the girl said, jumping up and down.   
"Yeah, just peachy," he said sourly. "I'm sure you'll get a kick out of seeing me though, Amy dear," he said menacingly.   
*This is it,* Amy thought taking a deep breath. They waited in the ring for their opponent's music to come on. The Dudley's music blasted on and Devon, Bubba and Spike raced down the ramp. Just as Jeff was getting ready to fight Devon, Amy stepped into the ring and took the mic from Lillian.   
"Okay, Jeff, I gotta say this, your like a little brother to me, but your cramping my style. I mean," Amy emphasized, rolling her eyes, "Matt and I never have a moment to ourselves. What I'm trying to say is we want you to stay out of our lives in and out of the ring. Get a girlfriend, get , get a best friend, or better yet, get a life. I don't care, whatever floats your boat," she said coldly, crossing her arms. Amy's throat tightened up, *I can't believe I'm doing this, I love Jeff with all my heart!* she thought. Jeff looked as though he'd been stabbed through the heart.   
"Is this true Matt?" Jeff asked softly. Unable to look him in the eyes, Matt hung his head in shame. "Fine, if that's what you want," he said quietly, with finality. Jeff started to walk away from Matt, but at the last minute he whirled around to face Amy, "Amy, you've been controlling him ever since you guys started dating. A puppet with all the strings attached," Jeff said bitterly. He looked towards Matt, "Matt, she has you whipped. You should have dumped her like spoiled meat a long time ago." Jeff turned around and walked away  
"Good riddance to bad rubbish," Amy said to his retreating form, with her hands on her hips.   
"Coward," Jeff threw over his shoulder as he jumped off the apron.   
Handing the mic back to Lillian, Amy grabbed Matt's hand and said," Come on Matt, let's break this joint." The crowd, who had been silent the whole time, started chanting Jeff's name and booing Amy and Matt. Some of the fans even went so far as to throw their Matt and Lita signs onto the entrance/exit ramp. That's when Amy saw her, the same girl that had been so excited to find out that the Matt/Lita romance was more than just a story line, now looked crestfallen. Amy broke away from Matt and ran up to the girl. "Storyline," Amy said with a grin, pointing to the sign. She raced back to Matt, and feeling slightly better, laced her fingers through Matt's.  
"Thank you!" the teenage girl shouted to Amy. Amy nodded to her and smiled.   
"What was that all about?" Matt asked, curious.   
"Oh, just a little bit of fan interaction, that's all," Amy said with a smile.   
They made their way back to the locker room and found Jeff there, just pulling his team extreme shirt off. Startled, Jeff looked up, surprise in his eyes. "That sucked," Amy said bluntly.   
"Tell me about it, especially when you're on the receiving end."  
Tears filled Amy's eyes. She ran to Jeff and hugged him tightly.   
"Oh, Jeff, I'm sorry."  
"Hon," he said, putting his arms around her, "I'm not trying to make you feel bad or anything. I know you didn't mean anything you said out there."  
"I know, but I felt so bad saying all that garbage to you. I would never say any of that junk to you."  
"Yeah, I don't like the fact that they made me like her whipping boy either. I'm the puppet and she's the one controlling all the strings. That's humiliating," Matt said in disgust.   
"Not to mention, pretty one-sided. I wouldn't call that a fair relationship," Amy said gravely. "What should we do, try to convince the writers to put us back together?"  
"No, the writers won't do it, it's too soon. As long as they don't do anything extreme with us, I'll go along with it, for now," Matt warned.   
Just as if they were in the ring, Matt, Jeff and Amy lightly touched their knuckles together.  
"Amy," Matt asked casually, "Are you very tired?"  
"No, not really, why?"  
"Meet me on the verandah in thirty minutes, " he said mysteriously.  
Amy raised an eyebrow, "I wonder what he's up to."  
"Who knows, but I bet you're dying to find out," Jeff said with a grin.  
"You know I am!" Amy said excitedly, bolting for the door. "See ya later Jeff!" Amy tossed over her shoulder.   
"Have fun Amy-girl," Jeff said, chuckling to himself.   
"Ooh, looking good stud muffin!" Startled, Jeff turned around in surprise.   
"I'm kidding," Nora reassured him, laughing. "Though you're not hard on the eyes, that's for sure," Nora said, wrapping her arms around his neck.   
"You know, I really should put my shirt on," he said distractedly, his lips inching ever closer to hers. "Aw, the heck with the shirt," Jeff said, tossing it on the bench, as he wrapped his arms around Nora's waist. Pulling her closer, his lips gently met hers when Jay and Adam walked in.   
"Aw, look at the two love birds," they teased. Jeff released Nora and rolled his eyes. Nora blushed furiously.   
"Dude, we heard about your girlfriend, and the fact that she's pregnant," Jay said.   
Nora looked up at Jeff, a mix of confusion and disbelief on her face, "What are they talking about?"   
Without thinking, Jeff retorted, "She'll be managing, not wrestling!"  
  
8:00 p.m., on the verandah:  
Amy walked out into the cool, evening air, dressed in red, velvet pants and a green, long sleeved velvet top. Over top her shirt, Amy wore an open black corduroy vest, which complimented the emerald scoop-necked top nicely.   
"Hey, gorgeous," Matt whispered huskily to her from the shadows.   
Startled, she jumped.   
"Hey, I was wondering where you were," she replied with a smile. He pulled his down-lined denim jacket tighter around his shoulders.   
"Waiting for you," he replied, taking her hand. "I have a surprise for you, close your eyes. As Matt led her down the wooded path, she asked mischievously, "What kind of surprise?"   
Seeing the smile playing on her lips, Matt replied with a grin, "Oh, you're not tricking me into telling you anything. Okay, here we are. Now, no peeking. He put his hands over her eyes just to make sure Amy didn't peek. Taking his hands away he asked, "What do you think?"  
She opened her eyes to find herself staring at the same frozen pond that she had seen earlier that day. This time though, the moon was full and bright, casting it's unearthly light on the surface of the pond, giving it the illusion of shimmering crystal. "Oh, Matt, it's beautiful, thank you!" She turned around and hugged him tightly.   
"And, I brought these," Matt said, pulling out a pair of glossy, white ice skates from behind his back. Her hand flew to her mouth and she let out a little squeal.   
"How did, where did you get them?" Amy asked in delight.   
"From the gift shop, they rent them there," Matt explained. "Plus, I got a pair of black ones for myself," Matt said, holding them up with a grin. They idly skated around the edge of the pond for a while until Matt came up behind Amy and grabbed her around the waist.   
"Hey, your going to make me lose my balance!" she said with a laugh.   
"No you won't," he said, pulling her towards the center of the pond. "Besides, I was getting lonely."  
"No, you weren't," she said, hitting him lightly on the chest, "we only started skating fifteen minutes ago."  
"So, I lied," he said with a smirk, "but I did drag you over here for a reason," He tightened his arms around her waist, pulling her closer to him. He gently caressed her cheek with his thumb and with the other hand, tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. Amy linked her hands behind his neck. He tenderly kissed her on the lips, his one hand moving up to support her neck and the back of her head as he lightly dipped her. When he brought her back up, her eyes were shining and her face flushed. Breathless, she gently pushed back several strands of hair out of his eyes.   
"Our first date," she whispered to him, lightly touching her forehead to his.   
"May it be your last, Amy dear," a voice said menacingly.   
Amy let out a piercing scream as the ice gave way beneath her.   
  
Back at the locker room:  
Feeling sick, Nora slowly sat down on the locker room bench. *Shoot!* Jeff thought to himself as he looked at her pale face. He thought she looked adorable when she was pale, but not when he was the cause of it.   
"Hon, I know what that sounded like, but let me tell you the whole story.   
Melanie and Greg married when she was twenty four, they've wanted kids for as long as I can remember. He enlisted in the Marines right out of high school. He died in a boating accident 2 months ago while on duty, and Melanie just told me today that she is pregnant."  
"Wow, that's loaded," Nora said, her eyes wide. "Did he know she was pregnant?"  
Jeff shook his head. "I'm not sure, but I hope she told him."  
"Whew, that's a relief," Nora said, visibly relaxing.   
"What's a relief?" Jeff asked carelessly, as he stood up.   
"What, what, Jay and Adam said, I'm glad it wasn't true," she said carefully.   
Jeff whirled around to face her, "You thought I was cheating on you and got her pregnant?" he asked in disbelief.  
"No, I guessed you hadn't, I just wasn't sure," she said uncertainly, staring down at her hands in her lap.   
"Man, I can't believe this, it's nice to know you think so low of me," he said bitterly. He slammed his locker door shut, and turned his back away from her.   
"Jeff, we've only been dating for three months," Nora pleaded, "we talk a lot, but you don't say much about your past other than your brother and Father. "  
"Whenever I have an interview, the interviewer always asks about our Mother, and I understand their curiosity, but I don't like to discuss it much outside of interviews, because it hurts too much," Jeff said, hiding the pain on his face away from Nora.  
Nora could see his shoulders tense up though, "Oh, Jeff I'm so sorry," Nora said reaching out to put a hand on his bare shoulder. As soon as he felt her touch though, he jerked away from her.   
"Look," he said through clenched teeth, "I did date Melanie pretty seriously in high school, but we never took it into the bedroom, and I value our relationship too much to put pressure on you or myself to go to the ultimate level."  
Blushing, Nora smiled at him, "Thank you, I'm glad you feel that way about us."   
"Jeff I just want to get to know you better, and if there's something you feel the need to ask me, go for it. Tactfully of course," she added gently.   
"No, I don't have any questions for you Nora, just a statement. I used to value our relationship, but I'm not sure if we have one anymore," he said quietly. He walked away.   
She buried her head in her hands as the tears began to fall.   
"Oh, Lord, please don't let me lose him," she said softly through her tears.  



	3. 

All of the people in this story are owned by Vince McMahon and the WWF, except for Melanie, Uncle Wes, Michael and Monica.  
  
If you would like to use my story, please ask me first.  
  
Please review, I love feedback! Constructive criticism is fine, but no flames please.  
  
Chapter 3: She's Baaack  
Matt didn't even have a chance to react, everything was happening so quickly. Amy felt like a million needles were embedding themselves into her skin.   
"I, I c c can't feel my legs," Amy said, fear creeping into her voice.  
"You're going to be okay," Matt reassured her.   
Matt grabbed her under the arms, while Amy grabbed his forearms. Her wet, freezing fingers tried desperately to hold on. Matt had her halfway out, when she started loosening her grip on his arms.   
"Amy, don't let go!" he commanded. Alarmed, he noticed her eyes were starting to slam shut. "Amy, stay with me, stay awake!" he pleaded. He tightened his hold on her forearms and with one last grunt and heave Matt finally pulled her body free of the icy water. Amy was sprawled on top of him. He eased himself out from under her, quickly took his jacket off and wrapped it around her. Tenderly, Matt scooped her up in his arms, and cradled Amy to his chest. He raced back up the hill and onto the verandah, only to be met by Paul and Stephanie.   
"What happened?" Stephanie said with a gasp, clapping a hand over her mouth.   
"She fell through the ice," Matt said quickly. "Look, I need one of you guys to go get a doctor."   
"I'm on it," Paul said. Stephanie held the door open for Matt and Paul.  
"Be careful," Paul said, giving her a kiss on the cheek.   
"Always." Paul gave her a look that said, 'Yeah right', and then he was gone. Stephanie and Matt dashed upstairs to Amy's room.   
Amy's arm was dangling limply at her side but she mumbled to Matt, "I'm f f freezing."  
"I know baby, we're going to get you warm though," Matt said, pulling her closer to him. Matt managed to toss Amy's keys to Stephanie and quickly she unlocked the door. Matt strode briskly into the room. He was just about to lay her down on the bed when Stephanie cried out frantically, "No don't!"   
Startled, Matt held Amy in mid-air, above the bed.   
"Why, what's the matter?" he asked, a puzzled look on his face.  
"Sorry, I think I overreacted just a bit." Matt could hear the smile in her voice. "We need to get her out of those wet clothes though," Stephanie said gently.   
His face turning a bright red, Matt gulped, "We?"  
Stephanie shook her head, smiling, "As in I."   
"Oh," Matt said looking very relieved. Matt carried Amy into the bathroom and gently sat her down. "It's important you stay awake hon," Matt said.   
Startled, Amy opened her eyes, "Oh, okay," she mumbled. Matt closed the bathroom door behind him and let Stephanie do the rest. Matt paced back and forth in the hotel room, wondering where Paul was with the doctor.   
"Is everything okay Steph?" Matt asked anxiously.   
"Yeah, everything is fine, I just need your help getting her into bed. Matt carried Amy to the bed and tucked the covers in around her. Matt pulled a chair over to the bed and wearily, sank down into it.   
"I heard about the story lines," Stephanie said softly.   
"Huh?" Matt said, lifting his head up.   
"I said, I heard about the story lines," she said a bit louder. The room was engulfed in shadow, except for the light of the moon, enabling Matt to see her serious expression.   
"It was my idea for Jeff to get a new manager, but the dialogue was not," she stated firmly. "Personally, I thought it was too harsh."   
"Yeah, so did we," Matt said matter-of-factly, "but I didn't think you had written the dialogue, it didn't seem like your style," he said with a grin.   
Stephanie could see his smile in the darkness, and matched his smile with her own.   
"I warned the writers you guys weren't going to be thrilled with it."   
The smile fell from his face, "So, they wrote it anyway huh," he said. Matt kept his voice under control, but Stephanie could hear the anger in it. "Let me guess, they don't plan on putting us back together, right?" he asked, his voice laced with sarcasm.   
"Probably not," Stephanie said, shaking her head.   
"Okay, fine, since they've split us up I'll leave it at that, but if the writers want me to do anything extreme against Amy or Jeff, I won't do it. I know I'm speaking for Jeff and Amy, but I doubt they would either."  
"I know, I've already thought of that, that's why I'll see what I can do," she said smiling softly.   
"Thanks," Matt said, returning her smile. Just then, a knock sounded on the door. Matt looked through the peephole, "Good, Paul's back with the doctor," Matt said relieved.   
As soon as Matt opened the door the first question that popped out of the doctor's mouth was, "Did you let her fall asleep?" he asked rather abruptly as he breezed past them to examine Amy.   
"Uh, no," Matt said, a touch of annoyance in his voice.  
"Good," he said briskly as he leaned over Amy.   
"I'd guess we'd better go and let him do his thing," Stephanie said softly. The quietly crept into the hall.   
"Geez, what a pompous a".. Matt started to say, but Paul cut him off.  
"Austin should have been here, he would have given the doc a most memorable salute," Paul said with a smirk.  
Stephanie elbowed him in the ribs, but she couldn't keep the laughter from escaping her lips.  
"Uh, how did you manage to find a doctor?" Stephanie inquired, quickly changing the subject.   
Paul looked sheepishly at Matt and Stephanie, "At a doctor's convention they're having here."   
"Oh, more like him," Matt said sarcastically, jerking his thumb towards the door.   
"Actually, he was the best one, all the rest were so busy taking notes they didn't even notice I was there." Just then, Jeff came running up to them.   
"Is Amy okay? All Chris told me was that she'd been hurt."  
"I think she will be alright," Matt replied, none to confidently.   
"What happened?" Jeff asked.  
"This, is what happened," Chris said, striding toward them, holding a sign. "Right after Paul told me about her "accident", I went outside and scouted around the area of the pond where she fell in and found this in the bushes. He held up the sign, which read: Warning: Thin Ice.  
Jeff's jaw dropped and Stephanie's face whitened. Concerned, Paul wrapped his arms around her waist, gently pulling her against him. Matt's jaw muscle tightened as Chris said, with a frown, "Amy's little accident was quite intentional." Nora came running up to the group, out of breath.   
"Guys, take a look at this," she said excitedly, handing Chris a piece of paper. Nora doubled over, taking in deep breaths. "I...found it... on the verandah," she said, breathless. She finally brought her head up, only to look into the concerned eyes of Jeff Hardy. *Oh gosh, I could lose myself in those eyes,* Nora thought to herself, as she gazed dreamily into them. Nora shook her head and felt her heart sink as Jeff's gaze became expressionless and he focused his attention on Chris.   
"It's almost as if the stalker wants us to find him," Nora said in surprise.  
"Very good, though it's rather like I found you," a voice said from behind Nora.  
*No, it can't be!* was Nora's last coherent thought as everything started to sway.  



	4. Do I Know You?

All of the people in this story are owned by Vince McMahon and the WWF, except for Melanie, Uncle Wes, Michael and Monica.  
  
If you would like to use my story, please ask me first.  
  
Please review, I love feedback! Constructive criticism is fine, but no flames please.  
  
Chapter 4: Do I Know You?  
  
"Nora!" Jeff said. Blindly, Nora reached out to steady herself, expecting to touch solid stone, but grasped human flesh instead.   
"Easy there," Jeff whispered calmly into her ear, as he wrapped an arm around her waist, holding her close. Jeff peered intently at the young, raven haired woman standing across from Nora. He knew her, yet he couldn't place the face. *Wait a second, no way! Oh geez,* he thought, nervously running a hand through his purple hair.   
"What do you want Monica?" Nora asked, her gaze steely.   
"I just want to"... but Chris cut her off.   
"Okay, so why'd you do it?"   
"Do wha,"... Monica tried to say, but Chris kept on going, "Why did you blow up my S.U.V.?" Monica's jaw dropped.   
"What are you talking about?" she asked Chris in confusion.   
"Why did you try to kill Amy?" Matt asked through clenched teeth, his eyes boring into Monica's.   
Monica's face registered genuine surprise, "Wha, what, I didn't"...  
"What do you have to say for yourself?" Chris grilled her.  
"She can't say anything because you won't let her," Paul muttered.   
Chris glared at him and was about to continue when Nora surprised   
him by saying calmly, "Paul's right, now would you kindly shut up."  
Jeff smiled, that's what he loved about Nora, usually she was meek and sweet, but she had this fiery side to her too. Jeff found it alluring and intriguing. *She's like a sweet and sour meatball,* Jeff thought to himself. He shook his head to clear his thoughts and focused his attention on what Monica was saying.   
"I wanted to say I'm sorry for what I did to you guys. It was wrong of me to kidnap and threaten you."  
"You forgot to mention using us for target practice," Chris added sarcastically.   
"Point taken," Monica said with a wry grin. Jeff spoke up for the first time since Monica's reappearance.   
"How do we know you're telling the truth? You've burned us too many to times to just trust you like that."  
"I know," Monica said sadly. I didn't expect you to believe me at the drop of a hat, but I'd appreciate it if you'd just hear me out." She looked at Nora pleadingly.   
"Guys?" Nora asked. Reluctantly, Matt, Jeff and Chris shook their heads yes.   
They went downstairs to the lobby and sat down in the overstuffed chairs.   
"Okay, were listening," Chris said, more than ready to hear her 'story'.   
"Prison gave me a lot of time to think, that and I talked to the priest, who visited the jail every two weeks. He was kind and always listened to me. He wasn't judgmental, nothing I said ever seemed to shock him. It felt good to get my feelings out. I became painfully aware of just how bitter I really was, and how much I hated just about everyone. Eventually, after all our talks together, I began to realize that I had hurt innocent people for something that they had no control over. She looked at Nora and Chris, "Your family meant well and couldn't have known what would happen to me. They did what they thought was best for me and I'm grateful for that.   
I no longer hated everyone and was trying to work through the bitterness, but being in prison was getting to me and I realized all the things I could have had if I had taken the less traveled road, you know. I couldn't stand it anymore, so I broke out, or rather I dug out. Security in that place is tight, you wouldn't believe how hard it was to escape."  
"If anyone could pull it off, I'm sure you could," Chris said dryly. Everyone turned to stare at him and quickly, Chris shut his mouth.  
Monica continued, "I dyed my hair back to it's original color, hoping it would make it harder for the police to find me, though I know I can't run forever." Monica let out a gasp and pointed to the tv screen. She stared at it, not moving a muscle, almost as if she was frozen. The others looked at her as if she'd grown a second head. "Just look and listen," she said frantically. The wrestlers turned towards the television and listened carefully to the news anchor.   
"Earlier this evening, a New Orleans prison was burned to the ground. No one was killed, but there were some minor injuries. The big question is, where are the seven criminals that managed to escape!" Monica held her breath as they showed pictures of the escapees.   
"Okay, so maybe they won't be coming after me anytime soon, all my prison records were stored in the jail safe," Monica stated.   
"So, what did you do, burn it to ashes, because you hated the jail so badly?" Stephanie asked incredulously.   
Monica shook her head, "No, but I think I know who did. Jamie and I were cell mates for the first month I was there. He was an okay guy, once you got past the psychotic tendency thing. He had a huge fascination with fire. Anyway, one day they took him out of the cell, kicking and screaming, and I haven't seen him since."   
"He must have done something pretty bad," Stephanie commented, her eyes wide.   
Monica nodded, "Probably, but he never talked about his past crimes, ever. Anyway, the next day I overheard one of the guards talking about moving a prisoner to another section of the compound, one with tighter security. I can't remember his face very well though, and none of the pictures on the news looked liked the way I remember him. Anyway, he definitely could have pulled it off. He was bright in an insane kind of way," she said thoughtfully, cocking her head to the side.  
"Uh, maybe a little bit of him rubbed off on you," Chris suggested.   
"Nah," she said, dismissing Chris's suggestion with a wave of her hand.   
Changing the subject, she looked at Chris and said, "That letter Nora gave you, I meant for it to be funny." They all stared at her. "Okay, judging by the looks on your faces, you obviously didn't find it amusing."  
  
"What exactly did the letter say?" Stephanie asked, her interest piqued.   
"All I wrote was: 'I'll be watching'. I thought it was fitting, since, well, I have been watching you guys since earlier this evening."  
"Did you follow us all the way from North Carolina?" Jeff asked suspiciously, thinking of the telephone wire incident.  
"Yes," Monica said. "It took several buses to get here.   
Look, I didn't come here to blow up anything, endanger any lives or play psycho stalker. I just wanted to apologize for what I did."  
"Phones can be just as effective," Chris commented. Nora elbowed him in the ribs, hard. "Hey, I was just"... her look silenced him. Pouting, he gingerly rubbed his side.   
"Do you have any place to stay?" Nora asked Monica.   
Taken aback, Monica quickly responded, "Uh no, but I'll just find one down the road." Nora knew she was fibbing because there weren't any hotels down the road.   
"Nonsense, you can stay with me in my room," Nora said excitedly, putting an arm around her shoulder. Monica glanced at Nora's hand on her shoulder then looked at Nora in surprise. "It's okay," Nora assured her, "I have a room all to myself this time and I have an extra bed that you can use." Jeff's jaw dropped and he looked at Nora in surprise. His first impulse was to camp outside Nora's room to make sure she'd be okay.   
He wrestled with that feeling though, "Nora's a grown woman, she can take care of herself," he told himself.   
Paul looked at his watch and nearly jumped out of his chair. "Holy smoke, it's after midnight! Well, time flies when you're having fun. I'm going to turn in. I'll see you all tomorrow." He leaned down and gave Stephanie a quick kiss on the lips. "See you at breakfast tomorrow hon," Paul said.   
"Night Paul," Stephanie rewarded him with a bright smile. Pretty soon the rest of the group headed for bed also. Matt went in to check on Amy before he went to bed. Matt was relieved to find her sleeping peacefully and no longer ice cold to the touch. When Matt walked into he and Jeff's room the lights were already off.   
"Hey Jeff, are you still awake?"  
Jeff sat up in bed, "Yeah, I'm still up."   
"Are you and Nora okay? You seemed kind of cool and distant towards each other tonight."  
Jeff sighed, "We're just going through some trying times, that's all."  
"It's about Melanie isn't it?" Matt asked. Matt flipped on the lights, momentarily blinding Jeff. He had to blink several times to adjust to the bright light.   
"How did you know?" Jeff asked in surprise.   
Matt shrugged, "The hotel was abuzz with, 'Oh, did you hear about Jeff's ex-girlfriend, his new manager, and get this, she's pregnant.' I've been hearing it all evening. People just think the worst," Matt said in disgust. "Good thing Nora heard it from you before she got wind of it from the rumor mill." Matt's grin slowly disappeared from his face. "You did tell her, didn't you?"   
"Yes," Jeff said slowly, "after she heard the rumor."   
"Oh, geez," Matt said, sitting down on his bed.   
"I was hoping Melanie wasn't going to tell Vince that she was pregnant. I was hoping that everything would kind of blow over and that would be it. You want to know the worst part, Nora believed the rumor," Jeff said angrily. Matt could hear the frustration in Jeff's voice.   
"Really?" Matt asked in disbelief, his eyes wide. Jeff sighed and rubbed a hand over his eyes.  
"Nora told me that she guessed there was no truth to the rumor, but that she really wasn't sure. I stormed off and just left her there, staring after me. What hurt the most was that the possibility of the rumor even being true, crossed her mind. I thought she knew me better than that!"  
"Were you planning on telling Nora about Melanie, Jeff?" Matt asked softly.   
"No, I was kind of hoping it would just blow over ."   
"Jeff, things like that don't just blow over, it's important you and Nora discuss things like that. Don't let her be the last to know. Believe me, I've been there, done that."   
"Do you love her?" Matt asked.  
"Well, yeah."  
"Have you told her?" Matt asked.  
"Well, no," Jeff replied.  
"Does she love you?" Matt continued.   
Jeff's brow furrowed, "Yeah, I think so."   
Matt's eyes widened, "Whoa, you guys need to talk.  
Oh, and Jeff," Matt said gently, "maybe it's not so much that she doesn't trust you, perhaps it's because she doesn't know you well enough."  



	5. A Chance Meeting

All of the people in this story are owned by Vince McMahon and the WWF, except for Melanie, Uncle Wes, Michael and Monica.  
  
If you would like to use my story, please ask me first.  
  
Please review, I love feedback! Constructive criticism is fine, but no flames please.  
  
Chapter 5: A Chance Meeting  
  
Yawning, Amy drowsily opened her eyes and felt something soft and velvety wrapped around her. She looked down at the royal blue sash tied around her waist. *I don't remember my robe being this soft- uh oh!* She practically jumped out of bed and skidded to a stop in front of the bathroom door. Amy breathed a sigh of relief as she saw the water dripping off of her clothes and into the tub. Her thoughts rushed back to last night, she remembered Matt carrying her and hearing Stephanie's voice several times. *Please let this be Stephanie's robe,* she thought fervently to herself. She looked down at her bare feet and realized for the first time how toasty warm they were compared to the cold, hardwood floor. *How come they're so warm?* Amy wondered to herself. She felt along the foot of the bed and felt two little lumps. Pulling back the covers, she saw 2 hot water bottles lying there. Smiling softly to herself, she thought, *Snug as a bug in a rug.* Quietly, she opened the door and tiptoed across the hall to Matt and Jeff's room. She knocked on the door softly. Shirtless, Matt opened the door, rubbing the sleep from his eyes. Amy blushed, she seldom saw him without a shirt on unless he was in the ring.   
His eyes wide with surprise, Matt asked, "Amy! How are you feeling?"   
"Um, fine," she responded quickly. "Tell me this is Stephanie's robe?" she blurted out in one breath.   
Matt smiled, "Actually, no".. he paused, taking in her distraught features. Panic flitted across her face for just one second, but quickly she regained her composure. Amy was trying to find a way to sensitively ask Matt a question without offending him.   
Matt knew what was bothering her though, so he continued. "The robe is complimentary, we have one in our room too." He noticed Amy visibly relax. "And," he continued, "Stephanie took your wet clothes off, not me," he said with a chuckle.   
"Oh, thank you," she said gratefully, nervously fiddling with the sash at her waist. "How did you know?" she asked curiously.  
"It was written all over your face. You may try to hide what your thinking but you can't fool me. I know you better than that," he said smugly.   
"Or at least you'd like to think you do," she said with a smirk. She turned on her heel and headed back to her room. Opening her door, she saw a flower box lying on the polished, cherry wood nightstand beneath her window. *Oh, Matt must have sent me flowers, how sweet of him,* she thought with a smile. She neatly took off the yellow wrapping and opened the box. The smile fell off her face and she gasped, the flowers were charred, mostly ashes. There was a little note in the bottom of the box. With shaking hands, Amy unfolded the note. It read: "Something to remember me by." The note fluttered to the floor. A million thoughts flooded through Amy's mind, *Is this for real? Do I actually know this person or worse yet, does he or she know me?*  
Matt had just closed his door and crawled into bed when he heard a soft knock on their door. Matt sighed and had the feeling he wasn't going to get any more sleep this morning.   
"Amy, I really don't feel like witty"... he said as he opened the door. He stopped abruptly when he saw her pale face.   
"Matt," she said, her voice trembling with fear.   
"Amy what is it, what's the matter?" Matt asked, concerned. Unable to get the words past her throat, she gripped his hand tightly and pulled him into her room. He noticed the mutilated flowers on the nightstand. "What the heck?" Matt asked angrily.   
"Look at this," Amy said, picking the note up off the floor, she handed it to Matt. As he read the note, his jaw muscle tightened. "Vince needs to know about this," Matt said, grabbing her hand. He started pulling her towards the door.   
"Uh, Matt, we're not dressed. Going to see Vince in our pajamas might be a little awkward don't you think?"  
"Oh," he stopped abruptly, and sheepishly looked down at his pants. "It might give Vince the wrong idea."   
"And," Amy said gently, "I would like to talk to Vince about it okay. It's just something I feel that I need to do myself, but I would love it if you were there for moral support. Besides, in case I stumble over my words you can help me pick up the pieces."   
Matt swallowed hard, "Um, okay."   
"I appreciate your doing this for me, I know it's hard for you, because your accustomed to being the leader type."   
Whether she realized it or not, that was a major blow to his ego.   
He shrugged, "Aw, it's no big deal."  
"Yes it is," she said, "it takes a strong man to go against the grain." She brushed a soft kiss against the scratchy stubble starting to form on his chin. "Better start growing that goatee again for the matches, the girls love it," she said teasingly. "Just let me get dressed, and I'll meet you in the hallway in a few minutes." As Matt laced up his shoes, he thought, *I know Amy wants to do this on her own, and I understand that. It is hard for me, even though I don't admit it. I'll be there for her, but if Amy wants any help I'll gladly give it to her,* he thought determinedly. Amy and Matt walked quietly down the hall, and knocked softly on Vince McMahon's door. They could hear laughing and giggling coming from inside. Amy turned to Matt, "Maybe we picked a bad time," Amy said, looking uncomfortable. Just then the door opened, and Vince peered at them, his hair disheveled.   
"Who is it honey?" they heard Linda McMahon's voice ask from inside.   
"What do you guys want? It's 8:30 in the morning!" he hissed.   
"We uh, that is I uh," Amy babbled.   
"We need to talk to you Vince, it's important," Matt said, giving Amy's shoulder an affectionate squeeze. Linda came to the door, just tying the sash around her robe.   
"Oh, hi guys," Linda said smiling. She rested her chin on Vince's shoulder.   
Vince sighed, "Alright, meet me in the lobby at 10:00 a.m. sharp."  
Amy and Matt nodded, "Thanks Vince," Matt said.   
"See, I don't think they would have noticed us in our pajamas at all," he teased as they starting walking back down the hall. When she didn't respond to his teasing though, he frowned. "What no jab to the ribs or punch in the shoulder?" he asked with a grin.   
"Hey, what's wrong red?" Matt asked, gently massaging her neck.   
"I can't believe I didn't do that," Amy said in frustration.   
He dropped his hand from her neck, "What are you talking about? Oh, I know, it's because you got all tongue-tied in front of Vince."   
"Thanks for reminding me," Amy replied sourly.   
"Hon, don't worry about it, you've been through a lot lately, and last night is the straw that broke the camel's back."   
"I suppose that's part of it, plus I've never really had a serious discussion with Vince, he's just always handed us a script and told us what he expects from us in the ring. It just bugs me that I got all nervous and wimped out."  
"Amy, you don't have to try and be so tough all the time," he admonished gently.   
Amy raised an eyebrow, "Did that sentence just come out of your mouth?" she feigned in mock surprise. "Besides, I learn from the best," Amy said, casting him a sideways glance.   
"I know I have the tough guy thing going on, but on occasion even I have to let my guard down. I'm only human."  
"I know," Amy said with a sigh. As they reached her door, Amy turned around suddenly, facing Matt. "Oh, I forgot to tell you, after practice, I'm meeting Stephanie at the mall for lunch, so I'll see you later this evening."  
"Okay, but be careful," he said in concern.   
"Will do," she said, giving him a quick kiss on the lips.  
  
10:00 am, in the lobby:  
Amy, Matt and Vince sat down in the overstuffed chairs.   
"So what do you guys want to talk to me about?" Vince asked curiously, leaning forward in his chair. Matt sat back and listened intently as Amy told Vince everything, starting with the explosion of Chris's S.U.V., up to now, ending with the burned flowers incident. She conveniently left out the part when the stranger walked into her hotel room the day of their arrival. Vince stared at her, speechless, then he leaned back in his chair and sighed.   
"I think the police need to be brought into this," Vince said matter-of-factly."  
"What can the police do though, I don't know who the stalker is." Apparently, it's someone from my past, but the note that he or she left with the flowers doesn't ring a bell." Amy handed him the note. "I'm thinking perhaps it's just an obsessed fan."  
"Or another psychotic family member," Vince said raising an eyebrow.  
"Oh, it's not Monica," Amy said quickly, looking at Matt out of the corner of her eye. "Besides, Monica is Nora's half sister, she's not related to me."  
"Whatever, good enough, you're all close enough to be family anyway."  
"Okay, so no police, what about a bodyguard?"  
Matt sat bolt upright in his chair, "That's a great idea!"   
"No," Amy said firmly. "I would have no life or privacy. He'd follow me everywhere."  
"Okay," Vince sighed. He wasn't about to argue with Amy, she could be very tenacious when she wanted to be. He could see that in her personality when she was in the ring. "I'll do what I can as far as hiring extra security for inside and outside the auditorium. Amy, I do have one more suggestion though," Vince said reluctantly.   
"What is it?" Amy asked, her voice filled with dread. She had a feeling she wasn't going to like what he was about to say.   
"You may want to take a break from wrestling for a while, just till this blows over," Vince said quickly.   
"Amy stood up quickly, "What, no, I'm not doing that." She stormed over to the window, staring out of it unseeingly. Just then she felt hands gently press down on her shoulders, " I can't do it Matt, I want to be in the thick of it, not behind the scenes."  
"I know red," he said gently, "but Vince has a point, less exposure, less chance of the stalker getting to you."   
Amy turned to face him, her eyes looking sorrowfully into his, "If you were asked to stop wrestling because of a health or safety issue, would you do it?   
His eyes locked with hers, "No," he said with finality.   
"Okay then." Amy stepped away from Matt and walked over to Vince, giving him her answer.   
Amy looked at her watch, "I have to go meet Stephanie at the mall, I'll see you guys later."   
Watching her go, Vince said, "Geez, Amy's like a dog with a bone, she holds on and won't let go."  
Her tenacity is one of the things I love about her though," Matt said with a grin. Soberly, Matt said, "I can't say that I wouldn't do the same thing if I were in her shoes."   
"So big bro, have you tried on one of Amy's dresses yet? It might be a bit tight on you though," Jeff said, grinning, as he clapped a hand on Matt's shoulder.   
"Ha, ha, very funny," Matt said giving Jeff a withering look. "Oh, and remember, you and I are supposed to meet Paul outside on the verandah in 20 minutes, and," Matt emphasized, raising an eyebrow, "try not to be late."  
Jeff nodded absent-mindedly, "Okay, okay." Jeff turned to Vince, "Why did you let Melanie be my manager after you found out she was pregnant?"   
"Because I asked him to," a female voice said from behind them. "He was reluctant to let me get involved because I was with child. I need to be around friends though and to keep busy. If I'm busy working, I'm too preoccupied to think about Greg as much," Melanie explained, unshed tears glittering in her sea-green eyes.   
Watching her closely, Jeff finally found his voice, "Mellie, I just don't want you getting hurt."   
"I know," she said softly, pulling him into a hug, "but the decision was not yours to make, but mine. Please try to understand. I'll be careful though, I promise," she said through the tears in her eyes.   
"A-hem," Vince cleared his throat. Slowly Melanie pulled away from Jeff. "Don't give me a reason to believe that pesky rumor," Vince said with mock severity.   
"We're just old friends," Melanie said reassuringly.   
"I can see that," Vince said with a twinkle in his eyes. "Oh, and Jeff, I gave Matt your script earlier, your fighting Andrew (Test). Melanie is in your corner, while Trish is in Andrew's. I'll see you guys at the match tonight."  
Melanie watched him leave, then turned back to Jeff, "I'm going to go watch the others practice, then Vince want's me to go through several outfits that Stephanie picked out for me to wear in the ring- that she thought would match my style," Melanie said a bit uncertainly.   
"Don't worry, Steph probably has your style down pat. She has good taste in clothes, so your in good hands. That girl shops more than Nora does, and Nora goes to the mall at least once a week. Melanie laughed then abruptly changed the subject.  
"I appreciate your concern Jeff, but please don't worry about me too much because Vince has told all the wrestlers that I'm pregnant, so they all know to be extra careful not to get me involved in a match, kind of like Lillian," Melanie said with a carefree grin. Jeff watched as she walked away, *yea, but Lillian's gotten caught in the crossfire numerous times, the worst being when she broke her arm,* he thought darkly.  
Jeff looked at his watch, "Aw, shoot, I'm going to be late!" he muttered to himself. When he got to their table he was surprised to find Chris and Andrew there too. Matt looked up at Jeff in surprise and looked at his watch.   
"You got here on time-with 30 seconds to spare," Matt said, grinning wryly. As Jeff sat down Paul smiled nervously at the group.   
"I called this meeting of sorts, because I want you guys to go shopping with me," he said hesitantly.   
"Aw man," the others groaned.   
Ignoring them, Paul continued, "To buy a wedding ring for Stephanie," he finished. The guys looked at him in surprise, their mouths hanging open.  
  
Meanwhile, at the mall :  
Amy was surprised to see Nora, Trish, Jessica and Monica sitting at a table with Stephanie.   
"Hey, what are ya'll doing here?" Amy asked in surprise. As Amy sat down beside Nora, Stephanie leaned forward in her chair, a bright smile on her face, "I'd like you guys to help me pick out a wedding ring for Paul," she said excitedly.   
The girls squealed.   
"Oh, this is going to be such fun!" Nora said delightedly. As the girls started walking through the mall Monica noticed a guy walking ahead and to the right of them at a fast pace. *He looks kind of like-Elroy Jetson!?* Monica thought in surprise.   
"Nora," Monica said, pointing at the guy ahead of her, "do you know that person? He looks vaguely familiar."  
Nora giggled, "Yes, that's Erin O'Grady, you may know him as Crash Holly."  
"Oh, right, he's that.. hey, he's that wrestler on tv!" Monica exclaimed.  
"Right, Erin's great, he's the coolest."  
"Oh, so Erin's your boyfriend?" Monica asked curiously, trying her best to hide her disappointment. Monica felt a twinge of jealously at the prospect of he and Nora dating.   
"Oh, no," Nora said with a laugh, "Jeff's my boy".. Nora stopped abruptly, a frown marring her pretty features.   
"No, no, Erin's not my boyfriend, he's just a good friend," she finished quietly. Failing to notice Nora's change in demeanor, Monica found herself greatly relieved that he wasn't dating anyone at the moment. *What's going on with me, I don't even know the guy,* she thought to herself.   
"You like him don't ya?" Nora said, grinning slyly at her.   
"What are you talking about? I don't even know him."   
"No, but all of a sudden you're very curious about him- for someone you don't even know," she said with a Cheshire-cat like grin.  
They were interrupted by a tug on Nora's arm.   
"Oh, my gosh!" Stephanie said, dragging Nora into a Celtic jewelry store. She pointed excitedly to a two-tone, gold wedding band in the store window. "This would be perfect for Paul, manly and unique, plus he is always reading books about Celtic civilization, customs etc."  
A smile spread slowly across her face as she inspected the design of the band closely. It consisted of two gold bands-one white gold, the other yellow gold, intertwined together, giving it a multi-colored, braided look.   
"What do you guys think?" Stephanie asked the others excitedly.  
"I think it's nice," Trish said.   
"It's breathtaking!" Monica replied.   
"I'm getting it then," Stephanie said firmly. The others waited outside the store while she purchased the correct size ring for Paul.   
Conspiratorially, Amy leaned towards Trish, Nora and Monica, "What do you think if we had a bridal shower for Stephanie?" she asked, her eyes shining excitedly.   
Giddy , Nora whispered softly, "I thing that would be just peachy!"  
The others just looked at her. "What?" she said. Monica and Trish thought it was 'peachy' too.   
"Great, I'm glad you guys like it. Now, all I have to do is wheedle Matt and Jeff into letting me use their house," she said with a grin.   
"Why their house?" Trish asked, curiously.   
"Their place is bigger than mine," Amy said simply.   
"Shh, she's coming," Monica whispered quickly.   
"Got it," Stephanie said triumphantly, clutching her precious cargo close to her chest. "Now, Monica how about we get you some new clothes. You would look great in leather pants"...  
  
  
A half-hour later, at the other end of the mall:  
*Finally,* the guys thought with relief, when Paul found a jewelry store that he was actually interested in. *They'll feel differently when it's their turn,* Paul thought with a grin as he entered the store.   
He turned the gold braided, Celtic ring over in his hands, this will look great on her delicate finger, Paul thought to himself. *Good thing I know her ring size.* He walked out of the store with a smile on his face.   
"Okay, now we can go."  
"Oh, geez, finally, we've been here three hours! " Chris said.   
Andrew elbowed Jeff in the ribs, "Hey, isn't that Erin over there?"  
"Yeah, it looks like it," Jeff said absent-mindedly, not really paying attention. Andrew noticed a raven-haired girl with him.   
"Who's the girl with him?" Andrew asked Jeff. "Earth to Jeff?" he asked, waving a hand in front of his face.   
Jeff shook his head, "Uh, sorry, what did you say?"   
"I said," Andrew emphasized, "Who's that girl he's with?"   
Jeff looked for a second, then shrugged his shoulders, "I don't know." Getting a glimpse of her face, Jeff almost did a double take and looked again. *Nah, It couldn't be Monica, could it? No, no, Erin wouldn't fall for an ex-con, right?*  
  
  
Wrestling auditorium, 5:00 o'clock:  
When Jeff walked through the double doors, the first person he saw was Chris Benoit.  
"Hey Chris!" Jeff yelled, jogging over to him. "Have you seen Nora anywhere?" Chris closed his eyes and thought for a second, "She was here earlier this morning, but she left hours ago."   
"Did she say where she was going?" Jeff asked, partly in concern, and partly trying to track her down in hopes of talking to her.   
Looking slightly irritated, Chris replied, "She said she was going to meet a friend at the mall.   
"Oh," Jeff said, looking crestfallen.   
Feeling a little bad, Chris said quickly, "She didn't say who she was going to meet."  
"Thanks for your help Chris," Jeff said, his shoulders slumped, as he headed back towards the entrance.   
"No, problem, anytime." *That kid has it bad,* Chris thought to himself, shaking his head.  
  
6:00 o'clock, the auditorium :  
Jeff looked at his watch nervously, his match started in five minutes. He hadn't seen Nora all day. *Maybe she's just trying to avoid me, or maybe her "friend," is some guy she just met and maybe she's hanging out with him at the mall. He shook his head, *Man, too many maybes, but still, I hope I'm not too late,* he thought frantically.   
Just then, Mel came up to Jeff.   
"Jeff, I'm sorry about all the rumors about us, I hope they haven't messed things up with you and your girlfriend. Judging by the guilty look on his face, she knew otherwise.   
"Oh, Jeff, I'm so sorry!" Practically throwing herself into Jeff's arms, she wrapped her arms around his waist and clung tightly to him.   
Hesitantly, Nora pushed open the locker room door, "Jeff can we.. talk," her voice trailed off. Nora's throat went dry. Rooted to the spot, Nora felt as if she were paralyzed.   
"Nora!" Jeff said, releasing Melanie. Nora turned and fled, tears flooding her eyes.   
"Nora!" Jeff cried out again as he reached the end of the corridor. He thought he'd seen a glimpse of her golden ringlets to his left, but when he reached the end of the hallway, she wasn't there either. He ran a hand through his blue hair. "This is just not my week," he muttered, putting his head in his hands.   
A female voice spoke quietly behind him, "It looks like I've made things worse instead of better," she said regretfully.   
"Melanie, it's not your fault," Jeff said forcefully. It's a matter of both trust and communication between Nora and I." Jeff looked at his watch. "Come on, we have a match to attend."   
With the Hardys music playing, Jeff and Melanie made their way to the ring. Jeff got up on the ropes and did the trademark guns. Suddenly, the arena went dark and Test's music started playing. Test made his way to the ring, followed by Trish. Once Test entered the ring, Jeff motioned for Melanie to leave the ring. Obediently, she ducked under the ropes and watched in fascination as Jeff clothes-lined, then twisted Test's arm behind his back. She never imagined she'd be this close to a wrestling match, and Melanie found herself getting into it. Out of the corner of her eye she saw Trish climb under the ropes to help Test. Following suit, Melanie ducked under the ropes and grabbed Trish's arm, "What do you think you're doing?" Melanie hissed.   
"Melanie, it's part of the script, remember? I'm supposed to come in and interfere." Melanie's eyes widened in recognition. Reluctantly, she let go of Trish's arm. Melanie stepped out onto the ring's edge and carefully made her way back to the turnbuckle. She watched tensely as Trish grabbed a handful of Jeff's brightly colored hair.   
"Come on Jeff!" Melanie screamed, pounding on the turnbuckle. Test easily got out of Jeff's arm lock and delivered a swift kick to his midsection. With a sneer on her face, Trish backed away, knowing she had done her part, watching as Jeff doubled over in pain. Melanie was so engrossed in the match that she didn't realize she was now standing in the center of the ring's apron. Looking down, Melanie grasped the rope tightly and slowly turned around. Trish saw what was about to happen and raced around to the other side of the ring.   
Melanie was gingerly lowering herself off of the apron, when frantically, Trish cried out, "Melanie, get out of the way!" Melanie looked up at Trish, startled. Going out of character, Trish screamed, "Andrew stop!" Surprised, Andrew threw a confused glance at Trish, but his jaw dropped when he saw Melanie in his way! He tried to stop but to no avail. He bounced off the rope, knocking Melanie to the floor.   
  
Meanwhile, backstage:  
Benoit's match was up next, so he glanced up at the monitor to see how Jeff and Andrew's match was progressing. He abruptly stopped lacing up his boots as he watched the screen. Benoit usually never got involved in wrestling matches that weren't his own, but judging by the panicked look on Andrew's face as he jumped out of the ring, something had gone horribly wrong. Chris jumped up off the locker room bench and raced towards the entrance ramp. He made his way down the ramp, ignoring the horde of screaming fans surrounding him. He breathed a sigh of relief when he saw Jeff slowly getting up. That's when Chris noticed a young woman with luxurious, brown hair lying face down outside the ring. He knelt down beside Trish and felt the young woman's neck for a pulse.   
"What happened?" Chris asked calmly.   
Trish pointed to the center of the ring apron, "Andrew bounced off the rope, but he didn't see Melanie until the last minute and by then it was too late."   
"Melanie," his eyes widened. Gently, he turned Melanie over, looking her over critically.   
"Andrew went to call an ambulance, they should be here soon," Trish said. Chris nodded absent-mindedly, as if mulling something over. Making a decision, Chris carefully scooped up an unconscious Melanie in his arms.   
"Whoa, wait a minute, aren't you going to wait for Andrew to come back?" Trish questioned.   
"Relax Trish, Jeff and I can get her to the hospital faster. Ya coming Jeff?" Chris yelled over his shoulder.   
"Right behind you!" Jeff yelled, jumping off the apron, albeit, a bit stiffly. As Jeff looked worriedly at Melanie's still form, he pleaded silently, "Lord, let her be alright."  



	6. Love Takes Time (The Love Chapter :)

All of the people in this story are owned by Vince McMahon and the WWF, except for Melanie, Uncle Wes, and Michael.  
If you would like to use my story, please ask me first.  
  
Please review, I love feedback! Constructive criticism is fine, but no flames please.  
  
  
Chapter 6: Love Takes Time (The Love Chapter! :)  
  
  
Jeff relentlessly paced the waiting room floor.   
"How can you just sit there like that?" Jeff questioned of Chris's cool demeanor. Jeff stopped pacing and studied Chris's face closely for a second. He noticed Chris's jaw muscle tighten. *Chris is worried about her too,* Jeff realized. "Look, I'm sorry I didn't realize"...  
"I'm just glad I got there when I did," Chris said softly.   
Just then the doctor strolled towards them. Chris jumped up out of his chair, while Jeff asked anxiously, "How is she? Will she be okay?"  
"Well, she has some bruising on her stomach, but the baby is just fine."  
"Thank goodness," Jeff said breathing a sigh of relief.   
"P p Pregnant?" Chris stuttered.  
The doctor continued, "She does have a slight concussion though, so she will need to stay the night for observation. Otherwise she should be okay."  
Jeff pumped the doctor's hand enthusiastically, "Thank you Doctor"...  
"Weatherly," the doctor supplied wit h a smile. He started to walk away, but suddenly he turned around and said, "And take good care of that young woman, you never know what you have until you almost lose it." With that Doctor Weatherly turned on his heel and walked away, his white coat billowing behind him.   
"Sounds like the voice of experience," Chris noted.   
"I'll say," Jeff nodded in agreement. "I hope it turned out alright for him," Jeff said turning to Chris.   
"Judging by the smile in his eyes, I'd say it turned out just fine," Chris said with a smile on his face. They went in to see Melanie, Chris somewhat awkwardly, because he didn't really know her. Jeff sat down next to Melanie and gently grasped her hand. Melanie slowly opened her eyes, only to feel the warmth of someone's hand holding hers. She squinted painfully in the bright light. Almost shyly, Chris scooted his chair over just a bit.   
"How are you feeling?" Jeff asked.   
"Well, my stomach is a bit sore"... Her eyes widened in panic, "Is my baby okay?" Melanie tightened her hold on Jeff's hand, her eyes darting frantically back and forth between Jeff and Chris.  
"Your baby is fine Mel," Jeff said gently.  
"And," she said, a teasing smile on her lips, "my throat is kind of dry."  
Taking the hint, Jeff got up quickly and said, "One glass of water coming up."   
Melanie's eyes slowly drifted to Chris. "Hi," she said softly. His face broke out in a wide grin and Melanie noticed his missing tooth. Her own face broke out into a wide grin. *He has such an adorable smile, what with his missing tooth and all. Okay, where did that thought just come from!* Even with just a smile, her head felt like it was going to split open. "Oh," she moaned, putting a hand to her head. Instantly, she felt gentle hands push her back into the pillows. She opened her eyes again, expecting to see Jeff, instead she saw the concerned face of Chris Benoit looking into hers.   
"Easy does it," he said. "Name's Chris Benoit," he said gruffly, as he sat back down in his chair.   
"My name is Mel"...  
Carelessly, he said, "Oh, I know who you are."  
"Oh, okay," she said huffily.   
*Darn it, now I've ticked her off,* he thought nervously.  
"All I meant was, I had heard that you were going to be Jeff's manager, that's all."   
*Dagnabit , this is why I do not talk to girls. I always end up sticking my foot in my mouth, or making a fool out of myself.*  
*Where is Jeff with that water! This Chris Benoit person is making me uncomfortable. One minute he's nice, the next minute stand-offish.*   
"I hadn't seen you until tonight, once Trish told me who you were"...  
"When did you meet me, I don't recall meeting you?" she asked, slightly alarmed.   
Chris squirmed uncomfortably under her gaze. "Well, I saw Jeff's match on the tv backstage, and later, when I noticed the panicky look on Andrew's face I rushed out to the ring, knowing something was terribly wrong. That's when I saw you," Chris finished.  
"So, you brought me here?" Melanie asked intrigued.   
Chris nodded, "Well, Jeff and I did. Andrew had called the ambulance, but I argued that Jeff and I could get you here faster. Since you were unconscious, I picked you up and, well, here you are."  
"So you basically saved me," she said quietly.   
"Yeah," he said.   
She smiled at him. "Thank you."  
"Oh, it was no big deal," he said, but he couldn't help staring into her rich, turquoise eyes. Jeff came back into the room and plopped down in his chair. Startled, Chris broke eye contact with Melanie and quickly scooted his chair a little ways from the bed. *Whew, I didn't realize I was so close to her!*  
"Am I interrupting something?" Jeff said with a sly grin.   
  
7:00, in the locker room:   
Monica and Erin were sitting on a giant chest, idly swinging their legs back and forth. Erin said coolly, "You know, why don't you try your hand at wrestling. You seem to have the body for it." *She has a great body, but I'm not going there. I've already had someone dance the two-step on my heart and I'm not letting it happen again.*  
"Oh, thanks, but I'm not really into that sort of thing," Monica replied uneasily. *The last thing I need is to be in the spotlight,* Monica thought nervously.   
"She's great with a blow gun though," Chris (Jericho) commented as he breezed past them in the hall. Monica glared daggers at Chris.   
"It's just something I used to practice with that's all," she said lamely.   
His face brightening, Erin asked, "Oh, wow, that's neat! Do you know any martial arts moves like Steve Blackman?"  
"Some," she said reluctantly.   
"You really need to talk to Vince about wrestling, you'd be great!" Erin said enthusiastically. "Unless, that is you already have a job," he said hesitantly.   
"Did someone mention my name?" Vince asked, walking up to them.   
"Hey Vince, this is Monica," Erin said with a smile.  
"Monica, it's"... Vince said, extending his hand to her.  
"What! It's you!" he snarled.  
"Excuse us a minute Erin," Monica said grabbing Vince's arm she pulled him into a corner.   
"I thought you were supposed to be in jail!" Vince hissed. Before Monica could utter a word, Vince continued, "No, wait a minute, let me guess, you broke out," he said sarcastically.   
"Let me explain, please," she begged.   
"You have 5 minutes," he said, crossing his well-built arms over his chest.   
"I'm different okay, I just came back to try and make things right concerning the people that I hurt.   
"Yeah, I'll bet. Who's to say your not the one who tried to kill Amy!" he said, his voice rising a notch. Monica quickly looked over at Erin, who raised an eyebrow.   
"Shh!" Monica whispered loudly. "Look, I also came here to start over, maybe make a better life for myself."  
"Well not in my ring you won't!" Vince exploded.   
"Excuse me," Erin said timidly, striding over to them. "Obviously, you and Monica aren't on great terms, but I think she has the makings of a great wrestler!" he said excitedly.   
"Oh, you do, do you," Vince challenged. Impressed that Erin didn't waver under his glare, Vince turned to Monica, "Okay, let's see what you've got." Monica sparred with Erin for a few minutes using boxing moves and stances, then making a smooth transition into martial arts movements.   
"Not bad," Vince said eyeing her carefully.   
"Golly, where did you learn how to do those moves?" Erin asked, impressed.   
"In jai.., I mean a place I used to stay when I was younger," Monica added quickly, looking over at Vince, who raised an eyebrow.   
"If you want it," Vince offered, looking her straight in the eye.   
"I want it," Monica said decisively, grasping Vince's out stretched hand in a firm grip. She knew this was Vince's way of telling her, "This is your chance, take it."  
  
8:00 o'clock, inside the hotel:  
Jessica sat on the bed, her back resting comfortably against several pillows Chris had put there for her. Restless, she flipped channels, bored out of her mind, until she came upon "That Seventies Show."  
"This show is so hilarious," Jessica said, laughing, as she struggled once again to get comfortable amongst the fluffy pillows.   
"Aw, the he!".. she clapped a hand over her mouth. "Sorry little one, I promised not to curse around you."   
I feel like a blimp," she muttered to herself. In disgust, Jessica threw a pillow to the floor. She went to look in the full length mirror. "I'm not really that big," she said, studying herself. "But why do I feel so big?" she asked herself with a sigh.   
She looked up, startled, when she heard the key jiggle in the lock.   
"Okay, hon, I've got your double chocolate fudge ice cream, a jar of Vienna sausages and a can of oysters," Chris said, trying not to turn green.   
"Oh, thank you," Jessica said gratefully, grabbing the tub of ice cream from him. "Don't look at me like that, I don't eat the food all mixed together, just one after the other," she said with a grin.   
"Whatever you say hon," Chris said putting the rest of the food away. Lately, he had to be extra sensitive around her. Anything seemed to set her off, even when there was no connection between what he said and how she interpreted it. Chris was trying to be patient and deal with it. *After all,* Chris thought, *The doctor said it 's only overactive hormones, just a temporary thing.* Well, Chris's patience was about to be tested.   
Chris came back from the little kitchenette area, when out of the blue Jessica asked, "You think I'm fat don't you?" she asked, her face crestfallen.   
"Where did this come from?" Chris asked. Sitting on the bed beside her, he pulled Jessica into his arms.   
"Well, when you told me, "'Whatever you say hon,'" "I thought you were just being really non-chalant about my weight, even though you must have noticed it by now." He sighed and rolled his eyes. He kissed her forehead gently.   
"Sweetie, I think you're beautiful, inside and out."   
"Really?" she asked, looking up at him.   
"Really," he said firmly.   
"I feel so big, but I looked at myself in the mirror and my tummy isn't really that big," Jessica said, frustration in her voice.   
*Ah ha! So that's what this is all about,* Chris thought.  
"Well, maybe there's two of you in there," Chris said with a smile, as he gently rubbed her stomach.   
"One is enough, if they were two of them my stomach would be dragging the ground," Jessica said irritably.   
"Jess, I'm only kidding," Chris said with a sigh. Chris also realized that she had a shorter fuse these days. Not to mention an even shorter attention span, as he was about to find out.   
"I couldn't get comfortable earlier, your much softer than those pillows," Jess commented.  
"Gee, thanks," Chris said wry grin, "Just don't punch me like I watched you do to those pillows," he said uneasily as he noticed the one lying on the floor.   
"Oh, I wouldn't dream of it, your too cute," she said sleepily. He looked down at her as she snuggled deeper into his chest, a dreamy look on her face.  
"I love you to honey." Tightening his arms around her, they both fell into a dreamless sleep.  
  
8:30 p.m., Trish's dressing room:   
Andrew paced back and forth as Trish sat down in a chair, putting on her elbow pads. She stopped and watched him for a few seconds.   
"Andrew, honey, stop pacing, I feel like I'm watching a tennis match."  
"It's just this match darn it, I don't like you"... Trish cut him off, "I'll be fine out there, what with Steve and Brian there to protect me."  
"That's what I'm afraid of," Andrew muttered. Trish stopped in the middle of adjusting her knee pads and stood up. She cradled his face in her hands.   
"Oh your jealous, that's so sweet," Trish said, a faint smile playing on her lips. "Don't be though," she said, slipping her hand into his.   
"I know I shouldn't be jealous, but that story line with Steve just burns me up!" Andrew replied clenching his fist.   
"The writers cooked it up because they thought it would be interesting. They don't have any more romantic story lines for us, as of right now, and tonight's only a wrestling match," Trish said, batting her eyelashes at Andrew, making him turn to mush.   
"You're right, as always, Steve does seem like a decent guy, I've talked to him on several occasions.   
"See, there you go," Trish responded, giving him a quick kiss on the lips.   
"Hey, that's not a kiss!" Andrew said, pulling her to his chest. "This is." He gently cupped her chin as his lips descended upon hers. When Andrew finally released her, Trish stepped back, a dazed look on her face. *Wow! So gentle, yet equally intense and passionate.* Just then she heard the roar of the crowd and Brian's(Grand Master Sexay's) music come on.   
"That's my cue, I'll meet you back here after the match." She whipped around, almost hitting a metal, support pole directly behind her. *Hey, I noticed this thing here earlier, why didn't I remember it was here just now?* she thought, a puzzled look on her face.   
Andrew put his hands on Trish's waist, easily spanning it. "Whoa, be careful there babe," he cautioned.   
"Thanks," Trish said. She shook her head, attempting to clear it. Then she made a beeline for the door and headed towards the ring. Andrew shook his head and smiled, "Wow can that girl kiss!" he said, almost forgetting to duck so he wouldn't hit the door frame on his way out.   
  
9:00 o'clock, at a fancy restaurant:   
Paul stretched his arm across the table, gently entwining his fingers through Stephanie's, "Penny for your thoughts?"   
She shook her head, "Huh, oh, I'm sorry Paul, I was just thinking."  
"Care to talk about it?" he asked, noting with concern the troubled look in her eyes. Stephanie studied him carefully, as if debating whether to discuss with him what was bothering her.   
She took a deep breath and blurted out, "Do you want children?"  
He blinked, "Where did this come from?" he asked gently.   
She fought back the tears, *I thought he wanted kids, after the way he seemed to bond with Michael and Lisa,* she thought, her hope quickly dying.   
"Yes," Paul said looking into her eyes. Relief flooded through her.   
"How do you feel about adoption?" Stephanie asked. He sighed. She could tell he was getting frustrated.   
*I really don't want to discuss this right now, I'd rather just have a quiet, if not belated dinner with her.* He shifted in his seat, "Steph, I want to be the father of our children, adopted or not."   
Stephanie started crying softly.   
"Hey, come on Stephanie, don't cry," Paul said uncomfortably, he hated seeing women cry. He put an arm around Stephanie consolingly and led her out onto the patio. Paul gently tilted her chin up to face him. In the moonlight he could see the tear tracks on her face.   
"Why are you crying? Are you upset by my response?"  
Vehemently, she shook her head no, "I guess I'm just so relieved that your okay with everything."  
"Sweetie, I'm marrying you for you, not whether or not you can have children. I think it would be wonderful if we have a child that we, ourselves helped to bring into this world, but if we adopt, then we give a child a loving home, that's all. Even if we don't have children I'd be happy with just you."  
Stephanie wrapped her arms around his waist, hugging him tightly, she buried her head in his chest.   
She brought her head up, and looked up into his rich, blue eyes, "I love you."   
His eyes full of love, he looked down into her beautiful, brown eyes, "I love you too."  
  
At the movies:   
Tears forming in her eyes, Amy snuggled up to Matt as they watched the end of 'Pearl Harbor'.   
As Faith Hill's music came on during the ending credits, Amy commented, "That was so horribly sad!"  
"I know," Matt said, wiping a few stray tears from his eyes. Matt put his arm around Amy's shoulders, "You ready to go?" Amy nodded. "Come on, let's see if we can't find a fifties-style diner around here," Matt said. Matt spotted a diner just across the street. He looked at his watch, 9:30. *I hope they're still open,* he thought. They walked across the street in silence. Matt glanced over at Amy, knowing she had a lot on her mind. Whether it was the movie lingering in the back of her mind or more, he didn't know. He had a strong hunch though that the morning's events were the reason for her quiet behavior. *I'm pretty sure she'll talk to me about what's bothering her, but it has to be on her time, no pushing,* he thought to himself. Matt opened the door for Amy, and she was met by a blast of oldies music coming from the juke box. She smiled slightly. Catching her smile, Matt grinned and said, "I was hoping I might see your face light up tonight." Amy blushed. They found a booth and slid into the comfortable red, leather seats. A waitress wearing cat eye glasses came over to them. She popped her bubble and continued cracking her gum.   
"What can I get for ya?" Matt looked at her name tag, it read Lenore.  
*Even the name sounds like it's from the fifties,* Matt thought with a grin. Amy noticed the young woman was even wearing a poodle skirt with saddle shoes. *This is cool!* Amy thought, smiling. The waitress stopped chewing her gum and stared at them, "Are you ready to order yet?" she asked.   
Knowing Amy's favorite drink, Matt replied, "Two chocolate malts please."   
"Okay," the waitress said with a shrug. Taking the menus, she turned on her heel and walked back to the counter.   
"You remembered," Amy smiled at Matt, pleased. Matt smiled, "Hon, wherever there is a chocolate malt to be drank, you drink it."  
Amy nodded. "Our waitress is.. unusual," Amy said thoughtfully.   
"Oh, you mean Lenore," Matt said, jerking his head towards the counter.   
"Do you always read women's name tags?" Amy asked, crossing her arms.   
"Always, I want to know who I'm speaking to," Matt said frankly. Just then Lenore sat their malts down in front of them.  
"Enjoy, and let me know if you need anything." They watched her walk away, blowing another big bubble. Amy grew thoughtful as she sipped her malt.   
She stopped sipping her malt and looked up at Matt.   
"Matt, can we talk?" she asked, almost shyly.   
"Sure," he said easily, "what's up?" Even though Matt seemed relaxed, inside, his heart was pounding and he felt like he had butterflies in his stomach.   
"I've decided to temporarily quit wrestling," she said quietly.   
Matt watched several different emotions cross her face.   
"Are you sure?" he asked her seriously.  
She nodded, "What choice do I have," she said helplessly. "After everything that 's happened, what with the stalker coming into my bedroom- for the second time."  
"What!" Matt said, his dark eyes glittering dangerously.   
*Uh, oh,* Amy thought, her heart pounding triple time. She sighed.   
*The best thing to do is just to come clean,* she thought.  
"The first day at the hotel, I had just entered my room when I felt someone put their arms around my waist, thinking it was you I asked a question. When there was no response I tried to turn around to get a look at the person's face, but I felt his arms drop away from my waist. That was when I asked if you had come into my room. When you said no, it freaked me out. I didn't know who it was though, and I didn't want to worry you unnecessarily, so I didn't tell you about it. Amy watched with bated breath as she saw a multitude of emotions pass over his face: Anger, frustration, hurt, finally understanding. "It's okay," Matt said softly. "I'm just glad you weren't hurt." She couldn't believe what she was hearing. She expected him to be, well angry.   
"Aren't you upset?" Amy asked, puzzled.   
"Yeah," Matt admitted, "but more concerned for your safety than anything else. "Come here," he said, reaching across the table for her hand. He put the money, including the tip, on the table.   
"Thanks for the malts Lenore, they were good."   
Lenore turned and looked at Matt in surprise, "Your welcome."  
They walked outside and sat down on the porch swing. Slowly rocking the swing back and forth, Matt and Amy sat in silence for a few seconds.   
"I knew something was on your mind, but I also knew you would tell me about it when you were good and ready, so I wasn't about to push you," Matt told Amy.   
Amy turned to Matt, "You know me so well."  
Matt shrugged, "Amy, I've known you for several years now, even though we weren't dating for most of that time, you learn a lot about a person when you spend almost every day with them," he said matter-of-factly. "I'm just glad you told me about it, better late than never," he said with a shrug.  
What Amy said next surprised Matt.  
"Hold me," Amy said, her voice thick. He didn't know what to say, surprised, he wrapped his arms around her, pulling her close. The next thing he knew he felt something wet fall onto his t-shirt.   
"Hey, hey Amy, what did I say?" he asked puzzled.   
"It's what you didn't say," Amy said, her voice muffled as she buried her tear-stained face deeper into his leather bomber jacket. "Thank you for understanding. I'm sorry I didn't tell you, it would have made things easier for the both of us." He felt a great relief at that statement.   
"Amy, I just want us to be able to tell each other anything- no matter what, and hopefully feel comfortable about it."   
He felt her nod against his chest.   
She pulled away from Matt and smiled sweetly, "In that case, how do you feel about having a bridal shower at your house?"...  
  
The next morning:   
Jeff tried to get the gritty feeling out of his eyes as he opened them. Instantly his face was bathed in sunlight.   
"Ahh!" Quickly, he squeezed his eyes shut, and rolled over, burying his face in the pillow. Matt had kept him up a good solid hour last night, telling him all about he and Amy's date. Jeff was happy for his brother, but at the same time it made it harder for him, because he and Nora's own relationship was on the rocks. Just then a harsh knock sounded at their door. "Ooh," Jeff moaned, pulling the pillow over his face.   
"I'll get it," Matt grumbled, slowly getting out of bed. Matt was pretty tired too. Jeff had spent a good deal of time telling him about the incident in the ring, Melanie and Benoit. Matt opened the door and looked up, way up, into the face of Mark Calloway(The Undertaker). Matt swallowed hard, "Hey Mark, what's up?" He and Jeff didn't know Mark that well, so Matt had no clue as to why Mark was here. *As long as he doesn't have a bone to pick with us,* Matt thought uneasily.   
"Vince wants to talk to you guys," Mark said gruffly. "He's in the small conference room downstairs on the right."  
"Okay, thanks Mark," Matt said.   
"No problem," Mark said with a wave, as he walked away.   
"Jeff, we have a meeting with Vince, now. Come on, get up," Matt said urgently. He shook his brother's shoulder.   
"Alright, alright, I'm up," Jeff said groggily, as he slowly sat up in bed. Matt pointed at Jeff and started laughing.  
"What's so funny?" Jeff asked indignantly.   
"Your hair, it's sticking up all over the place," Matt said, trying to hold back a grin.   
"Quick, hand me a comb!" Jeff said horrified.  
When Matt and Jeff entered the conference room, they were surprised to see Amy and Nora there too.   
"What's going on?" Jeff asked warily. *It's got to be something big if Vince is calling us in for a meeting, and whatever it is, it's probably not good either,* Jeff thought with a frown.   
"Alright, tonight is Amy's last performance, until we find out who's stalking her." They all nodded somberly. Vince looked at them uneasily, "But, your last match will be quite memorable, I'm afraid. Jeff and Nora, you will be fighting Amy and Matt, as the last match of the evening."   
"What!" Matt roared.   
"No way!" Jeff replied angrily. The girls looked at each other uneasily.   
Vince held his hands up, "Unfortunately, there is more, Jeff is supposed to do a corkscrew moonsault on Amy towards the end of the match. "The creative writers came up with this whole idea yesterday afternoon. I tried to get them to reconsider, but they refused."   
"They seem to be doing that a lot lately," Matt said bitterly.   
Angrily Matt left the room. Hoping she would be able to calm him down, Amy followed after Matt.   
Amy framed Matt's face with her hands, "Matt it'll be okay, I'll be okay," she emphasized. Amy slowly watched the smoldering fire in Matt's eyes die out. Matt hugged her, and said calmly, "Jeff knows what he's doing."   
  
Back in the conference room:  
Vince sat back in his black, leather chair, and closed his eyes, sighing. Nora's mind was spinning, she had so much she wanted to say, but so much was going on at the same time.   
Nora whirled around to face Jeff, and blurted out, "I don't know if I should say this, but I love you!" Jeff stared at her, his mouth dropping open. Vince stared at Nora with a mixed expression of humor and surprise on his face.   
"Wh, what?" Jeff asked, thunderstruck.   
An idea struck her and Nora's face lit up like a Christmas tree.   
Amy and Matt walked back into the room, holding hands.   
"Okay," Matt said, taking a deep breath, "sorry about that Vince, I didn't mean to walk out like that," Matt apologized.   
Vince nodded. "Apology accepted, but I understand the reasons for your anger Matt."   
Taking a deep breath, Nora stepped forward, "I'll take the corkscrew for Amy."   
Matt stared open-mouthed at Nora. He wasn't expecting her to say that. Both he and Amy were speechless, as was Vince.   
"What, No!" Jeff said, slamming his fist on the wooden table behind him.   
Finding his voice, Vince said, "No, that's a great idea Nora, unique original," Vince said, but his smile trailed off as both Jeff and Nora glared at him. Quietly, Matt, Amy and Vince left the room, realizing this was really something between Nora and Jeff.   
Calming down a little, Jeff said softly, "You could get hurt, in fact, chances are you will."  
"I know," she said, her fingers lightly trailing down the side of his face, "but I trust you." With that she walked out of the room. Jeff went after her, striding down the hall briskly in order to catch up to Nora. Gently he grasped her upper arms, looked down into Nora's cornflower blue eyes and said, "I love you too." She blinked once, then twice. "Y, you do, but I thought you and Mel"... Jeff cut her off with a kiss.   
"Wow," Nora said, lightly touching her lips where he kissed her.  
"Does that answer your question?" he said with a smile.   
"You know, a couple more kisses wouldn't hurt," she said slyly.   
"The things I have to go through," he said with an exaggerated sigh, as Jeff leaned in for another kiss.   
  
9:30, showtime:  
Jeff ran a hand through his natural, blond hair. He looked in the full-length mirror and practiced. "Nora, I can't go through with this, if I make one mistake- I don't won't to put you at risk like that."   
"You can go through with it, I'll help you." Startled, Jeff turned around to look at Nora's frowning face.   
"Nora I'm afraid I'll make a mistake and if I do," he trailed off.  
Nora ran her hands up his bare arms, "Whatever happened to "'Fear is Only a four-letter Word,'" she said with an encouraging smile.   
"Not when it involves my girlfriend," he said matter-of-factly.   
"Look I know you can do this, you've done this move hundreds of times, you know it like the back of your hand." For emphasis, she turned his hand over in hers. "And," she emphasized, "everyone knows where to stand, if I recall, we didn't practice 5 hours straight for nothing," she said with a smile.  
"I don't deserve you," he said smiling, as he kissed the top of her head.   
"I know," she said with a grin. "Now, let's get out there and knock 'em dead."  
The Hardy's music blasted through the speakers as both teams made their way to the ring.   
Jeff and Matt faced off, followed by Nora and Amy. Then came the defining moment. Jeff got up on the turnbuckle, setting up for the corkscrew Moonsault. *This is it,* Jeff thought, squeezing his eyes shut. *Oh God, please don't let me hurt her!* he thought frantically. With that thought screaming through his mind he propelled himself off the ropes. At the same time, the crowd gasped as Amy pushed Nora into Jeff's way. He felt the impact, as his legs and torso jarred with Nora's upper body and face. Her head hit the mat hard and the last thing Nora saw was red in Jeff's hair and then everything went black.   



	7. Revelations

All of the people in this story are owned by Vince McMahon and the WWF, except for Melanie, Uncle Wes, Michael and Monica.  
  
If you would like to use my story, please ask me first.  
  
Please review, I love feedback! Constructive criticism is fine, but no flames please.  
  
Chapter 7: Revelations  
  
Holding his aching side, Jeff painfully stood up. He turned around and gasped. Nora's face was covered in blood. Forgetting the pain in his side, Jeff quickly knelt down beside her. Gently running his hands down Nora's cheeks, Jeff whispered softly, "Come on Nora, come back to me."  
Jeff looked up frantically and noticed Amy running back towards the locker room. *Thank goodness, she's going to get help,* Jeff thought, letting out a deep breath he hadn't realized he'd been holding. A shadow crossed in front of Jeff, causing him to look up.  
"I think you broke her nose," Matt said gravely, kneeling down beside them. "Here, you need to lift her head up a little bit," Matt said, cautiously sliding his arm under her neck, he lifted her head up slightly. Just then Nora's eyes flickered open, "Jeff, what happened to your hair, why is it streaked with red, it looked just fine blond," Nora said weakly, her fingertips reaching out to touch his hair. Matt and Jeff looked at each other, pained expressions on their faces. Jeff felt sick, as if his heart had plummeted into his stomach. *Oh, geez, she isn't even aware that she's bleeding and it's all my fault,* Jeff thought miserably.  
Alas, she felt herself sinking into an inky abyss as the darkness swallowed her up.   
Nora's eyes hurt as the bright light penetrated them. Not to mention her face, nose and head. Feeling something warm and comforting against her hand, she turned her head and looked down. Her smaller hand was tucked securely inside both of Jeff's. She smiled softly as she looked at Jeff's sleeping form. He was almost bent in half, his upper shoulders and head resting on the bed, the lower half of him seated in the chair. Gently, Nora began to stroke his hair. A minute later she reluctantly pulled her hand back, noticing the red streaks in his hair. *What is this?* she thought. *It's all sticky.* All the images of earlier flooded her mind.   
"Oh, my"... her voice croaked. Her breath coming out in sobs, she frantically tried to pull her hand out of Jeff's , but even in his sleep he wouldn't let her go. Jeff started to stir though, and opened his eyes.  
"Hey, hey, take it easy," Jeff said, stroking her cheek, "You're going to be okay." Nora wrapped her arms around Jeff's shoulders, hugging him tightly.   
"Jeff, what happened to me?" Hearing the panic in her voice, Jeff wrapped his arms around her protectively and gently rocked her back and forth.   
"You don't know?" Jeff asked, slightly surprised. Nora shook her head.  
"Jeff broke your nose and gave you a concussion," a voice said as he meandered into the room. "You have a thing for noses don't ya son?"   
Jeff frowned darkly, "Thanks, thanks a lot," he muttered. "Nora, you only have a slight concussion," Jeff said gently. Nora didn't know whether to cry her eyes out or slap Steve. "Great diplomacy Austin," Jeff said dryly, obviously irritated.   
Austin shrugged, "I just call'em as I see'um."  
"He wouldn't know diplomacy if it bit him on the as- I mean kiester," Chris Jericho said as he strode into the room. "You okay honey?" Chris asked gently as he sat down on the edge of the hospital bed. Reluctantly Jeff released her. "I, I think I will be, once my nose heals," Nora replied uncertainly. Gingerly, she felt the white gauze around her nose as Chris gently tucked a blond ringlet behind her ear. Monica skidded to a stop just inside the doorway of Nora's room.   
"Are you okay? As soon as Matt called"...  
"Matt called you?" Chris asked in disbelief. "So, what hand did you have in this, Monica?" Chris snarled. Monica bowed her head, feeling wounded.   
"Chris, shut up! Monica had nothing to do with this, she wasn't even there," Jeff said, clenching and unclenching his fists. Nora covered Jeff's hand with hers, trying to calm him down.   
"Well how did Nora?"...  
"I broke her nose, okay! I gave her the concussion!"  
Open-mouthed, Chris stared at Jeff, "What? How did?"...  
"I'll explain later, okay Chris," Nora said quietly. "Guys, thanks for coming, but could you give Jeff and I a minute alone please. They all nodded and started to leave.   
"Well, you take it easy darlin," Austin drawled. "Didn't mean to scare ya," he said apologetically. With a wink, he sauntered out of the room.  
"I can't believe this," Jeff said, putting his head in his hands. "It's all my fault." Nora rubbed his back gently.   
"Accidents happen, sometimes events happen that are beyond our control."  
"Yeah, but I let you down."  
"No you didn't," Nora said gently. "I know you would never hurt me intentionally. Besides, you did the best you could and that's all any of us can do," Nora said. She wrapped her arms around Jeff's waist in a gentle hug. Jeff pulled out of her embrace and tenderly looked down at her.   
"You know, I prayed tonight that I wasn't going to hurt you," he said thoughtfully, lightly resting his chin on top of her head.   
Nora leaned her head against his chest, listening to his heart beat. "Thank you," Nora said softly.   
  
2 weeks later, in North Carolina:  
Matt looked at his watch. Taking a deep breath, Matt looked up and said, "Okay, it's January 10th, a little late for a Christmas gift, I know, but," he stopped, noticing Amy's reflection staring at him in the mirror. Quickly, he turned around.   
She looked at him, an amused expression on her face, "Talking to yourself again Matt," she said, stifling a laugh as she walked into the living room.   
"Actually," Matt said as he caught up to her, "I wanted to talk to you." Quickly he pushed her down onto the sofa and said, "Wait here, I'll be right back."   
"Hey, what's the big idea!" Amy yelled as he disappeared into the kitchen.   
"Close your eyes and hold out your hands," Matt commanded. Gently, Matt placed the little, wriggling animal in her arms. Amy opened her eyes and found herself face-to-face with a pair of velvety brown eyes.   
"Oh my gosh!" Amy squealed in delight. "This is so sweet, thank you!" Amy exclaimed. She got up and wrapped her free arm around Matt's neck in a big hug. "It's so cute!" Amy said, with a smile that lit up her whole face. "Is it male or female?" Amy asked.  
"Female," Matt replied. "She's an Italian Neapolitan Mastiff."  
"Wow, I've heard of Mastiffs, don't they grow to be enormous dogs?"   
"150 pounds worth," Matt said grinning.   
Amy's eyes widened, "I like a challenge."  
"I knew you'd want a big dog," Matt replied with a smile.  
"So how did you find her? Mastiffs aren't usually found in pet stores."   
Matt shook his head, "I went to the animal shelter, took one look at her and knew you'd love her. I asked what kind of dog she was and the woman gave me a brochure. The rest is history," Matt said with a smile.   
"She's such a pretty color," Amy said, noticing the rich, mocha/gray of her coat.   
"Her color is called blue, but don't ask me why."  
"What's her name?" Amy asked as she stroked the little puppy's velvety nose.   
"The shelter found her yesterday, by the side of the road, lying next to her mother. The mother had been hit by a car and didn't make it," Matt said sadly.   
"Oh, poor baby," Amy cooed.   
Matt nodded and continued, "There was a litter of three puppies but this little one is the only survivor," Matt said pointing at the puppy in Amy's lap. "The girl at the shelter thinks she is about 3 months old. She has all her shots, except she hasn't been spayed yet. The brochure recommends that they not be spayed or neutered until they are at least 4 months old. Anyway, since the shelter just got her yesterday, they haven't had a chance to name her yet, so you get to name her," Matt said with a smile, scratching the little dog behind the ears. The little puppy kept her head down as Matt continued his ministrations. "Hey, I think she likes that," Matt said, smiling. All of a sudden she started barking and whimpering.   
"I'll bet she's hungry," Amy said looking at Matt. "Oh no!" Amy said with a gasp, practically dumping the puppy in Matt's arms, she rushed towards the front door.   
"Hey, wait a second, where are you going?" Matt asked, rushing after her, the puppy still in his arms.   
Amy stopped and turned around, "I have to go get dog supplies for, for her," Amy said, pointing at the little ball of softness in Matt's arms. "Shoot, plus I have to go to the grocery store to get the food platter, sodas and the cake for the shower this afternoon!"  
"Calm down okay, I'll get dog supplies for you," Matt said easily.   
Amy stopped babbling and stared at him, her eyes wide. "You will?" she asked in surprise.   
"Sure, I mean, you've been here since 10:00 am this morning decorating the living room for the shower, while Jeff and I were at the gym. I figure it's the least we can do. We'll even take the dog with us," Matt offered, hoping he wasn't biting off more than he could chew.   
"Oh, you're a doll!" Amy said, giving him a quick kiss on the cheek. "Thank you."  
*Oh boy! I don't know anything about dog shopping, Jeff buys everything for Liger. Well, hopefully Jeff won't mind going with me or letting the dog ride with us,* Matt thought with a gulp.   
An hour later Matt and Jeff walked through the front door carrying an armload of dog supplies. As Matt and Jeff put the bags on the kitchen table, Jeff glanced at Matt out of the corner of his eye and asked, "So, you gonna tell Amy that I helped you?" Jeff asked cheekily, a sly grin on his face.   
"No, not unless she asks- or you tell her," Matt said pointedly, giving Jeff a look.   
Jeff glanced at his watch, "Oh, shoot! I have to go pick up Nora. She wanted to get here a little early, because she offered to help Amy with the food.   
Matt looked down at his own watch, "Well, Amy should be back within the next half-hour, and the shower doesn't start until 2, so we have plenty of time."   
After Jeff left, Matt took Puppy out into the fenced-in backyard.   
"How about a little bit of exercise huh, girl?" Matt said, putting Puppy on the ground.   
Jeff unlocked the door letting himself and Nora in.   
"Matt!" Jeff yelled. No answer. *Probably he's outside with the dog,* Jeff thought. Nora followed Jeff down the hallway but stopped when she caught a glimpse of herself in the full length mirror. Jeff had just set the keys down on the table, when he heard a soft wail behind him. He turned around and quickened his steps as he walked towards Nora. Jeff wound his arms around her waist and rested his chin on Nora's shoulder. "What's wrong?" Jeff asked, looking at her reflection in the mirror. Nora turned around in Jeff's arms.   
"My nose, can you see the bruising around it? I knew I should have put make-up on it," Nora fretted.   
"Sweetheart, you look beautiful," Jeff said patiently.   
"Really?" Nora asked, smiling.   
"Yes, really," Jeff said reassuringly, kissing her softly on the nose.   
"Where's Amy?" Nora asked as her and Jeff walked into the kitchen.   
"Well, she should be here with Matt. I'm guessing they're in the backyard."  
"You guessed wrong," Matt said with a frown, as he closed the glass door behind him. "Amy hasn't returned yet, and I'm getting worried about her." Just then the doorbell rang. Matt handed the puppy to Jeff and raced for the door.  
"Oh, hey, Trish, Jessica, Monica," Matt said dully.   
"Nice to see you to Matt," Trish replied.   
"Amy hasn't come back yet from the store," Jeff explained.   
"When did she leave?" Monica asked concerned.   
"She left at 11:30 and it's 1:00 o'clock now. Why doesn't she just call me on her cell phone," Matt said irritably.   
  
On the road:  
Amy drove carefully on the slick streets. *I hate driving in the rain!* she thought disdainfully. As she approached the quiet suburbs that Matt and Jeff lived in, she noticed the entrance to their street was blocked off by a large tree lying in the middle of the road. A fire truck was there putting out the last of the flames licking at the tree that the rain had failed to put out. There were also several tow trucks there to pull the tree out of the way.   
"Oh well, I guess I'll take the closest detour," Amy said to herself as she turned onto the street before theirs. "Darn it!" she said, hitting the steering wheel with her hand. "I forgot this street is a dead end." She parked the car off to the side of the street, in the grass. She unlocked the door, *Oh, well, I'll just call Matt and ask him to come to me instead. Then we can get everything in one trip, except the car of course,* Amy thought with a grin. She pulled her cell phone out of her purse, started to dial Matt and Jeff's cell phone number when a gloved fist smashed through the glass. Amy screamed. The mugger opened the door and yanked her out by the hair. She tried to break out of the thief's grip, but it was too strong. The mugger slammed her down onto the wet pavement, her back and arms hitting painfully. She gasped in pain. The jerk got on top of her, grasped her wrists tightly, pinning them to the ground.   
"Do you know who I am?" the voice asked her.  
"Why? Should I?" Amy shot back.   
"You will in time," an evil grin twisted his face through the ski mask.   
Amy's breath came in short gasps. *His voice, it's so familiar!*   
"I know who you are, and I've been burned once, twice, but this time it is you who will burn Amy dear," he said menacingly. He was pleased to see the fear residing in her hazel eyes.   
"Till we meet again." He started to walk away.   
Standing up Amy screamed, "No, I want to finish this now!" What do you want from me anyway!" she yelled at him in exasperation. "Everyone, yet only you," he answered calmly. He walked away, through the pouring rain.   
"Oh, we will meet again, because now I know who you are." Amy stood there, fear and determination coursing through her blood as the rain poured forth upon her from the dark sky.  
  
The pet in this story is based on our dog, Gina, who is an adult version of the puppy, (Our own Big Baby:)  



	8. Moment of Truth

All of the people in this story are owned by Vince McMahon and the WWF, except for Melanie, Uncle Wes, Michael and Monica.  
  
The forties radio show, 'The Shadow', is not mine, but I don't know who it belongs to. :)  
  
If you would like to use my story, please ask me first.  
  
Please review, I love feedback! Constructive criticism is fine, but no flames please.  
  
Chapter 8: Moment of Truth  
  
Amy limped back to her car and dialed Matt's number when her cell phone started beeping. "For crying out loud, now you decide to die on me!" Amy said in disgust. Angrily stuffing her phone inside her purse, Amy grabbed the bag of sodas and slowly made her way to the house. She shifted the bag of sodas to the crook of her right arm, but her right wrist started to throb. Switching it back to her left, her thoughts drifted back to the stalker. *Okay, I'm almost certain I know who my friendly neighborhood stalker is,* Amy thought sarcastically. *Now I have to tell Matt,* Amy thought soberly. *This is the one part of my past that I didn't want anyone to know, not even my parents.* Amy's adrenaline rush was quickly fading, fast being replaced with fear and pain. Wearily, Amy knocked on Matt and Jeff's door. Matt opened the door and asked, "Amy, where were?" he stopped, taking in her pale face, torn pants, and wet hair plastered to her face. Matt gently ran his hands down the sides of her face and neck, stopping at her bare shoulders. "Amy, your freezing! What happened? Are you okay?" Matt started rubbing her arms furiously.   
Shrugging off his touch, Amy asked, a glazed look in her eyes, "Can I talk to you?" Matt nodded, watching her carefully. *It's almost like she's in another world,* Matt thought worriedly. Amy started shivering uncontrollably. Matt wasn't sure if it was the cold or something more, but he wasn't taking any chances. Matt put an arm around her shoulders and was about to call out for Jeff, when Amy tightly gripped his arm. "I need to talk to you first," Amy pleaded.   
"Hon, I just want to get you warm," Matt insisted. He went to get her a blanket. Wrapping it around her shoulders he said, "Now, we can talk." They walked into the kitchen. Amy climbed up on a stool, while Matt pulled out a jar of marshmallow cream. He glanced over at her, relieved to see the wild look gone from her eyes. A few minutes later Matt handed her the cocoa to her and said, "Just the way you like it, milk with extra marshmallow cream." Amy returned his smile as she took the cup. As soon as she wrapped her right hand around the steaming mug of chocolate intense pain shot through her wrist. Reflexively, she dropped the cup. Matt caught it though, spilling scalding hot chocolate all over his hand. He muttered a curse under his breath as he washed his stinging skin under the cold, refreshing water.   
"Matt, are you okay?" Amy asked anxiously, cradling her wrist in her left hand. He turned around, "Yeah, I'm," he stopped, his eyes narrowing, "What happened to your wrist?" Matt's eyes glinted dangerously as Amy told him the whole story. Gently, Matt took her hand and tenderly kissed the cool skin on the underside of her wrist. His kiss was making her feel all warm and tingly on the inside even though she was freezing on the outside. It was almost electrifying. Trying to get her thoughts back on track, Amy cleared her throat and said, "I'm pretty sure I know who the stalker is." Releasing her hand, Matt linked his hands behind his head and leaned back in the chair, studying her carefully.   
Matt leaned forward in his chair, his eyes piercing hers, "Why do I get the feeling there's much more to this than meets the eye?" Drawing a deep breath, Amy began to tell him her secret.  
"Okay, I was eighteen, still in my senior year of high school. There was this guy, Jamie Collins, who had been pursuing me all summer. I was not interested, which worked out really well because Mom and Dad didn't approve of him anyway. They felt he was kind of like a punk. Leather jacket, motorcycle, the whole nine yards, but what really bothered them was the fact that they believed him to be hanging out with the wrong crowd. Even I knew he had been caught skipping school a couple of times already. Well, I began to feel attracted to him. I think it was mostly his charm and boy did he turn it on." Amy smiled slightly. "Anyway, I fell for it hook, line and sinker," Amy said ruefully. "So, I started dating him in secret. At first I thought he was sweet, and I began to think my parents were wrong. We started going steady a month after our relationship first started. Then things began to go sour. Originally, I had been looking at him through rose-colored glasses but now I began chipping away at his false charm and was beginning to see pieces of his real personality. I mean no guy is perfect, but Jamie was downright scary. I saw him smoking with his buddies, which I didn't like, and I overheard them talking about vandalizing the school. I finally confronted Jamie when I him saw steal the hubcaps right off the principal's car. He just gave me an 'I don't care' attitude. We started arguing a lot more and then he started drinking. I'm not sure what triggered it, but he began developing an unnatural fascination with fire. Once we got in an argument and he was so angry with me he took his cigarette lighter, held it to my hair and threatened to set it afire, just to see the thrill of it burn. Matt scowled and Amy could see his jaw muscles tighten. She gently put a hand on his arm, "It's okay Matt, he didn't hurt me." Amy felt Matt relax slightly under her touch.   
"Well, the next day, I told him it was over. That I'd had enough. I went to class later that morning and saw a note on my desk, it said, 'I did this all for you.' I frowned, knowing it was Jamie. Not even a minute later the fire alarms went off in the school. I looked out the window and saw the gym going up in flames. I rushed outside and looked on in horror as I watched the gym burn to the ground. I knew then, deep down, that Jamie was responsible." Just then Monica rushed into the kitchen, her face flushed, and her eyes bright.   
"Did I just here you right? You mentioned Jamie and fire in the same sentence," Monica said directly.   
Amy nodded reluctantly, "How did you hear?".. Monica cut her off, "I just came in from playing with the puppy outside. I happened to walk by the kitchen when you mentioned his name. Jamie and I shared a cell in a New Orleans prison, but the place was burned down to the ground two weeks ago, and seven prisoners escaped." Amy went as white as a sheet.   
"Baby, don't faint, please," Matt beckoned, kneeling in front of her.   
"I, I won't. I'm okay, really," but Amy grasped Matt's forearms tightly, her fingernails digging into his skin.   
"Amy," Monica continued gravely, "it's very possible that Jamie set fire to that jail and just walked away."  
Just then, there was a knock at the door. They all jumped.   
"Stephanie!" Amy said, panic in her voice.   
"It's okay Amy," Monica said soothingly, "We'll help you set the food up. We just need to make sure that Stephanie is good and surprised," Monica said with a smile. The corners of Amy's mouth turned up just a bit, "You're right."   
Amy crossed the foyer to the door, opening it. Stephanie and Paul walked into the hallway.   
"Hi guys," Stephanie and Paul said to Amy and Monica. Amy ushered them into the living room.   
All the girls, except Stephanie, yelled, "Surprise!"  
Stephanie blushed and put her hands over her mouth in surprise as she looked at her friends. She stared in amazement at the many streamers, banners and signs hanging all over the walls. Stephanie took her hands away from her mouth, a smile widening on her face. Turning to her, Paul wrapped an arm around her waist.   
"Surprise!" he whispered softly into her ear.   
"Oh, my gosh, I can't believe you guys did this for me!" Thank you!" She turned to Paul, "And you," he looked at her guiltily, "you knew about this the whole time and didn't tell me!" Stephanie exclaimed, smiling. She reached up on her tiptoes, and wrapped her arms around Paul's neck, hugging him fiercely. Stephanie pulled away from Paul slowly as she noticed how pale and drawn Amy looked. "Amy, are you okay?" she asked, concerned. Amy looked at Matt uneasily, who was walking towards her. Matt gave her a look that seemed to say, *The ball's in your court.* Amy took a deep breath.  
"Why don't we go into the dining room," Amy suggested. They walked towards the dining room, where Jeff and the girls had just finished putting the platters of food on the table-minus the cake of course. Amy went into the kitchen, only to find Jeff getting drinks for everyone. She reached up on tiptoe and kissed Jeff on the cheek. Jeff turned to look at Amy in surprise, "What was that for?"  
"Thanks for helping the girls set up the food," Amy said gratefully.   
"No problem Amy-girl," Jeff said with a smile. Amy frowned in confusion, "I didn't bring in the food though, how did"... Jeff looked up from putting ice in the glasses. *Oh, Matt, please tell me you didn't tell Jeff,* Amy thought fearfully.   
"Matt told me where you parked the car because of a fallen tree blocking the road, so Matt and I went down got the rest of the food." Jeff eyed her suspiciously, noticing Amy visibly relax after he finished his statement.   
Before Jeff could question her though, Amy rushed into the dining room. Everyone looked up from getting their food, and stared at Amy, due to her abrupt entrance.   
"Guys, I have something to tell you," Amy said anxiously, all in one breath. Matt locked eyes with Amy, surprise showing in his dark, brown orbs. "I know who the stalker is, because I used to date him." Paul's mouth dropped open in shock, and the bite of the sandwich he just took, fell out, but nobody noticed. Jeff, who was standing behind and to the left of Amy, spit out his root beer, nearly choking on it.   
"Wh, what?" Jeff asked, not quite believing what he just heard. Amy told them everything, beginning with Jamie yanking her out of the car. They were all sitting down now, as she repositioned the ice pack, that Matt had silently given her, around her wrist.   
"I knew Jamie had been the one to burn down the gym, but I didn't tell the principal for fear he would include me as an accomplice to the crime. I was also afraid that Jamie would come after me If I told. For all I knew, he could have been dead, injured, but I never saw him again, until now," Amy finished. The others looked at her in stunned silence. Humiliated, Amy jumped up out of the chair and fled the room. With a quick glance at the others, Matt quickly jumped up out of his own chair to go look for Amy. He heard sobbing in the kitchen.   
"Amy," Matt said softly.   
"Go away!" Amy cried.   
"I can't, I live here," Matt said with a chuckle.  
"It's not funny!" she exclaimed indignantly, taking her hands away from her face.   
"I know it's not, that's why I'm here," Matt replied soberly.   
"Do you think any less of me?" Amy asked quietly.   
"What?" Matt asked in surprise.   
"Do you think any less of me?" Amy repeated. Matt looked at her in shock.   
"You've never given me a reason to," Matt said honestly.   
Not seeming to hear him, Amy continued, "I've always felt guilty about never telling anyone it was Jamie who burned down the gym. If I would have told someone, maybe he'd be a better person now. Or maybe he would at least be in jail where he belongs."   
Matt knelt down in front of Amy and cupped her face in his hands, "Amy Christine Dumas, listen to me, I don't think any less of you and neither does anyone sitting out there."  
"But not even my parents know about Jamie and I, no one else knows but you all,"  
"It doesn't matter, it's all in the past. Everyone makes mistakes Amy. All we can do is try our best to learn from them and go on. You've let this haunt you long enough, it's time to let go. Live for the present and the future, not the past." He gently wiped her tear-stained cheeks with his hand.   
She smiled. "Thanks for helping Jeff bring the food in, that was sweet of you."  
He looked at her blankly, "Huh, oh, oh yeah. Your welcome." Matt hugged her tightly to him, pressing a kiss against her temple, "I love you and I want you to know that you mean the world to me. Nothing is ever going to change that."   
Amy hugged him tightly, entwining her fingers through his, "My sentiments exactly." Hand-in-hand, they walked back into the living room.   
"Amy, we aren't ashamed of you or anything, we just didn't know how to respond to what you told us, that's all. Kind of shell-shocked you know," Jessica said easily.   
"I know, it's okay," Amy replied with a soft smile.  
"So, what are you going to do, now that you know who your stalker is?" Paul asked curiously.  
"Well," Amy said as she sat down, "the police won't do anything because he hasn't seriously hurt me yet, and- Monica, what did Jamie look like when you shared a cell with him?"  
Monica frowned, "Now that I think about it, I could never really see his face. He always wore a scarf and a hat, so I could only see part of his face. It's like he was practicing to be `The Shadow' or something," she said with a laugh.   
"Something must have happened to him when he set the gym ablaze," Amy said, a mixture of pain and surprise crossing her face. "Well, if the police won't come to him, I'll bring the police to me," Amy said setting her jaw in determination. Matt frowned, not liking where this was going. Amy continued, "When we go to the Teco Arena, for Monday Night Raw, in Florida, on Monday, I'll ask Vince about getting in the ring again."  
"Whoa, wait a minute!" Matt said, jumping out of his chair. "I know where this is going, you're not letting yourself be set up as a target for him!" Matt said, his jaw muscle tightening profusely.   
"Matt," Amy said soothingly, putting a hand on his arm, "since we really don't know what he looks like, I can't go to the police about Jamie. This is the only way to draw him out."   
Amy could see Matt relax slightly, "Alright, but I am going to be your shadow from now on."   
Amy sighed, "I know."   
Jeff stood up, "When this all goes down, Matt and I will be right there behind you. If Matt can't be your shadow at all times, I'm willing to fill in." The others nodded in agreement.   
"It's probably best if we hang in groups as much as we can," Nora advised gravely.   
Changing the subject, Nora asked brightly, "Do you guys want some cake?" They nodded. Amy and Nora cut the cake and gave pieces to everyone.   
After the guys finished their cake, Jeff got up and said, "We're going out back to play with- hey, have you decided on a name for the puppy yet?"   
"Penny," Amy responded, "In the sunlight, her coat glistens like a copper penny."   
"I like it," Matt said with a smile, "it fits her."   
As the guys walked outside, Paul whispered, "We left at a good time, Steph is going to start opening the presents and then they are going to talk about girl stuff." Matt and Jeff just shook their heads and chuckled.   
Amy handed Stephanie her first present. As Stephanie started opening her gift she said, "It is so nice of you guys to have a bridal shower for me, thank you. Now down to the juicy info," Stephanie said leaning forward with a grin. "You and Matt seem to have a really good relationship going," Steph stated, fishing for info. Amy leaned back in her chair, smiling. "Yes, we do. Matt is really sweet and I'm very lucky to have him. Just today, he got me an Italian Neapolitan Mastiff puppy."   
"Yeah, I just heard you, Jeff and Matt talking about her. Don't they grow to be approximately 150 pounds?" Stephanie asked wide-eyed. "Yep, I love a challenge," Amy replied with a gleam in her eye.   
"So," Steph said, turning to Trish, "What's the lowdown with you and Andrew?"   
Trish blushed, "Things are going well, I guess. Andrew is so sweet."  
"I here a but coming on," Jessica prompted with a grin.   
"Sometimes people irritate Andrew, he can get pretty hot-headed at times."   
"Being a former bodyguard for Motley Crüe will do that to ya," Amy said matter-of-factly.   
"Well, that doesn't bother me, I usually manage to keep him from blowing a gasket. I suppose it's because he loves me."  
"You suppose," Monica said, her eyes bugging out of her head.   
"What? Well, he's not seeing other girls or cheating on you is he?" Nora asked.   
Trish shook her head, "No."  
Stephanie smiled knowingly, "Oh, I know what it is, you want a deeper commitment from him don't you?   
"Well, yes," Trish replied uncomfortably.   
"But, you already have that?" Jessica questioned, confused. A second later, her eyes lit up, "I know, you want him to ask you to marry him!" Jessica cried triumphantly.   
Trish blushed profusely, shaking her head yes, "How did you know?" Trish asked in amazement.   
"You have no idea how long I waited for Chris to pop the question," Jessica replied, rolling her eyes. Trish's face fell. "Every guy is different though," Jess said encouragingly.   
"Your turn Jess," Stephanie said with a grin.   
"Not much to tell," Jessica said with a shrug.   
"Oh, that sounds promising," Stephanie said sarcastically.   
Ignoring Steph's remark, "Our relationship is great. Chris puts up with my numerous mood swings and he's been a doll with all my hormonal changes, but he's been so overprotective lately. Take today for example, no offense, I like traveling with you guys," Jessica said looking at Monica and Trish, "but Chris insisted that I come with the girls and not drive myself here. He won't let me drive by myself anywhere anymore," she complained.   
"No offense Jessica, but your looking kind of big for five months," Amy commented.   
"I know, I've been kind of worried about that, so has Chris. I'm going to see the doctor next week, but I guess your right, he's only concerned about the baby's and my welfare."  
"Okay Nora spill," Stephanie said eagerly. I heard all about what happened between you and Jeff. Now I want to hear the aftermath."  
"I think our relationship is stronger, and I don't think we take each other for granted as much," Nora replied honestly.   
"Short and sweet, I like it," Monica said with a grin.   
"Well, guess what, that's good, because your next," Stephanie said, a wicked grin playing across her face.   
Monica blushed not accustomed to so much positive attention. "Well, I would like to get to know Erin better, but he seems so withdrawn at times. See, Steve Blackman has been training me for the past two weeks, helping me smooth out the transition of my boxing and martial arts moves into wrestling moves. Erin was supposed to teach me basic and intermediate wrestling moves, but several times he told Vince that he wasn't ready to train me yet. Finally, Vince had enough and I'm training with Erin next week," Monica said with a smile. Erin would talk to me before and after my training sessions with Steve but that's it. I felt like he was avoiding me and didn't want to be around me. I mean, I thought he liked me, at least as a friend. It hurts, I just don't get it," Monica said, frustrated.   
"Sweetie, you'll need to talk to Erin about this, I bet he would like to get to know you better too, but maybe he's afraid to," Amy offered. Monica got the feeling that Amy knew more than she was telling. *Maybe it's not her place to tell,* Monica reasoned.   
"I guess your right," Monica said with a sigh.   
"Give him time, he'll come around," Jessica said comfortingly, putting an arm around her shoulder.   
Changing the subject, Monica asked innocently, "So, do you and Paul plan on having a lot of children after your married?" A heavy silence filled the room. *What did I say?* Monica thought uncomfortably. It was so quiet in the room you could hear a pin drop.   
"We hope to," Stephanie said quietly. "Chances are, we won't be able to have children of our own."   
"I'm sorry, I didn't know"...  
"No, it's okay, I don't mind talking to you about it. When I went to see the doctor just after I got out of high school, she told me I would never be able to bear children. I felt like my heart had been ripped out my chest."  
"Did the doctor even give you an explanation as to why you wouldn't be able to have children of your own?" Monica asked.   
"No, She just told me things weren't right with my hormonal, chemical and physical system. She didn't seem to know why."   
"She put it so nicely too," Monica said sarcastically.   
"Yeah, well, I'm not giving up hope," Stephanie said determinedly. "After Paul and I get married, we are going to try to have a child of our own, and if things don't turn out, then we have decided that we'll adopt. When we get back from our honeymoon, I want to put us on adoption waiting list. The more babies the merrier," Stephanie said with a small smile. Stephanie opened up her next gift, and blushed a deep red as she pulled it out of the box.   
"The red on that negligee matches your face," Amy said with a laugh, falling back against the chair.   
"Maybe this will help you have babies quicker, once your wed," Monica said sweetly.   
"Oh, you guys!" Stephanie said, laughing until her sides ached.   
  
Two days later, in Florida:  
"Absolutely not! Over my dead body, or possibly yours in this case! I will not have you out in that ring until this all over!" Vince exclaimed. Amy thought he was going to burst a blood vessel.   
"Vince, but don't you see, this is the only way it's going to be all over," Amy pleaded.   
"No, I'll figure out another way to catch this psychopath, without using you as bait," Vince said determinedly. Amy noticed the firm set of his jaw and knew there would be no way of changing his mind.   
Shoulders slumped, Amy walked out of his office, closing the door behind her. Matt and Jeff jumped up out of their chairs and rushed over to her.   
"So, what did he say?" Matt and Jeff asked anxiously.   
"It's a no go guys," Amy said, reaching out to hug them.   
  
Minutes later, Outside the Teco Arena:  
A pair of brown combat boots pounded on the pavement as a young man with a shock of red hair hanging over his eye, walked up to the security guard.   
He held up an I. D. card, "I'm looking for Monica, Monica Irvine."  
  
P. S. Jamie Collins is a character I created.  



	9. Scared Straight

All of the people in this story are owned by Vince McMahon and the WWF, except for Melanie, Uncle Wes, Michael and Monica and Jamie.  
  
If you would like to use my story, please ask me first.  
  
Please review, I love feedback! Constructive criticism is fine, but no flames please.  
  
Chapter 9: Scared Straight  
  
The security guard walked towards a group of wrestlers having a casual conversation. The young woman was twirling a lock of glossy, brown hair around her finger, like a shy school girl and the fellow was grinning from ear-to-ear, even though he was missing a tooth!   
"Excuse me, have you seen Amy Dumas?"  
Turning to him, Benoit frowned, "Why, what do you want?" Benoit asked gruffly.  
"Chris," Melanie reprimanded him softly, lightly putting her hand on his arm. The security guard scowled underneath the hat pulled low over his eyes. He wasn't counting on resistance.   
"I, uh, have some fan mail for Amy," he lied.   
Chris's face broke into a broad grin, "Why sure, she's in the exercise room, last door on the left."  
"Chris, but Amy's not in there," Melanie said, looking up at Chris questioningly.   
"And that's not a security guard either, they never receive fan mail from fans, the fan mail always goes straight to our P.O. Boxes. He was lying! Come on!" Grabbing Melanie's hand, Chris practically dragged her behind him as they took off.   
Meanwhile, the security guard walked into the exercise room and saw a lone figure, her hair tucked into a cap that looked somewhat like a beret. She was lifting weights in a corner.   
"Ah, now I've got you," he muttered. He reached out and clamped a hand on her shoulder. Startled, she turned around, the cap falling off her head, exposing her dark, tousled curls as they fell to her shoulders. Instinctively, the security guard ducked as the young woman narrowly missed decking him with her weights as she whirled around. As he did so, his own security guard hat fell off, revealing a lock of red hair that constantly fell over his eye.   
"Jamie!" Monica gasped, dropping her weights.  
"Long time, no see," he said coolly.  
"The less I see of you, the better," Monica said through gritted teeth.  
"Aw, is that a way to treat an old friend?" he asked sweetly. With split second timing, Jamie closed the distance between them and yanked her by the hair, forcing her head back. "Tell me where Amy is?" he demanded threateningly.   
"Sure- in your dreams," Monica spat forcefully, delivering a head butt to him. He staggered back in surprise.   
"I taught you well," he said, an arrogant smile on his face.   
"If that's what you want to think," Monica said with a roll of her eyes.   
"Oh, I don't think, I know," he said evenly. Before Monica could react, Jamie viciously back handed her, following through with a foot sweep, knocking Monica off her feet. Getting her legs and arms straight, she put her weight on them, using her body as momentum to spring herself forward. Monica wiped the blood off her lip, and spinning her left leg around, delivered a roundhouse kick to his face. He flipped himself forward using the same spring momentum she had used just a second ago.   
"I underestimated you," Jamie said gravely.  
Breathing heavily, Monica retorted, "Darn straight!"   
Without warning, he hit her hard near the kidneys, with a roundhouse punch. Monica doubled over in pain. She popped up suddenly, bringing up her right leg in a wide arc, connecting with his head. He staggered back. Monica wasn't about to give him the chance to recover, with a powerful kick, she plowed her left leg into his solar plexus(stomach), knocking him to the ground.   
"Nice side kick," he said, breathing heavily. "I'm letting you off the hook this time, but next time you won't be so lucky," Jamie said menacingly. He staggered to his feet and ran off towards the arena. Erin had been walking to the exercise room just in time to hear the last few snatches of conversation between Monica and Jamie. He dashed into the room.   
"Who was that guy?" Erin asked, jerking his thumb in the direction Jamie had run off to. "Do you two know each other?" he asked, a mixture of disbelief and perplexity showing on his face.   
Monica's face paled considerably, "A long time ago, it's a long story." He knew their was much more to the situation than she was telling, but now was not the time to push, he realized, as he looked critically at her pale face and bleeding, split lip.   
Seeing the look of worry on his face, she sighed, "I'm okay."  
"Yeah, sure you are," he said as he gently steered her into the bathroom. He noticed she was cradling her ribs. "Your ribs okay? Maybe you should have them looked at," Erin suggested, raising an eyebrow.   
"Nah, they're good," Monica replied, taking her hand away from her ribs. *Golly, she sure is stubborn,* he thought with a shake of his head. He pulled a plain, white handkerchief out of his pocket and turned the faucet on.   
"Hold still," Erin said. Gently, he grasped her chin and turned her face towards him. She sucked in a gasp of surprise as Erin tenderly started to wipe the blood off her lip. Monica stood stock still, almost afraid to breath, as there was nothing left to do but stare into his blue eyes. A second later, Erin released her chin. She frowned, disappointed, his touch didn't even linger. He started to leave the exercise room but stopped and turned around. "Look, do you want me to call the police, I mean that guy just beat you up."  
"No, that's okay, everything is under control," she said with a small smile.   
"Alright, but only if you're sure," he said with a frown. As he left the room, he thought to himself with a smile, *Why do I get the feeling she wouldn't need my help in kicking his butt, since she seemed to do a good job of doing it herself.* He felt the anger burn inside of him though, at the thought of anything bad happening to Monica.   
Monica saw Jeff and Melanie, along with Chris Benoit pass by her in the hall.   
"Guys," Monica said urgently, "Jamie is here."   
"We know, Jeff said," letting out a deep breath as he ran a hand through his rainbow colored hair, "Chris and Melanie told us." "Looks like he got to you too, huh?" Jeff asked, studying her bruised face critically.   
"I'll be okay," Monica said, shrugging it off, "Erin helped me out." Chris, Melanie and Jeff exchanged a smile amongst themselves. Not catching the smile exchanged between the three, Monica continued, "He has red hair, a shock of it always hangs over his eyes. He's dressed in a security guard outfit, or at least he was, he's had time to change clothes," she said thoughtfully.   
Just then Jeff and Melanie heard their names announced over the loud speaker by Lillian.   
"Gotta go," Jeff said.  
"Are you sure you don't want to stay out of this match?" Chris asked Melanie. She nodded, "I'm sure. I'll be okay out there. I feel safe whether I'm with you or Jeff," Melanie said reassuringly, slipping her hand into his for just a brief moment. Chris released her hand, knowing her and Jeff had to get out to the ring.   
"Be careful," Chris said softly to Melanie.  
"Will do," Melanie said with an encouraging smile.  
Jeff flipped into the ring, while Melanie stayed outside the ring, in Jeff's corner. She learned her lesson from last time, no more hanging outside on the ring apron. Just then the auditorium went dark and Y2J's music started. Just as the fireworks exploded, Jeff heard a scream, Melanie's! The lights came back on and Jeff caught a glimpse of red hair as Melanie was hoisted over Jamie's shoulder! Jeff clenched his fists in anger, *If he hurts Melanie or the baby, I'll kill him!* Jeff raced off after the figure of the fleeing stalker. The audience let out a gasp as they watched all this unfold. Chris Jericho took off after Jeff, wondering where he was going, until he saw some red haired guy carrying Melanie over his shoulder. *Uh oh,* Chris thought, *this is not part of the show.*   
Chris cupped his hands around his mouth, "I'm going for help Jeff!" he screamed through the roar of the crowd.   
"Let Amy and Matt know what's going on and call the police!" Jeff stopped and yelled to Chris. Chris turned to race back towards the entrance ramp. "Chris!" Chris whirled back around to face Jeff. "Make sure Amy stays out of this!" Jeff yelled back.   
Chris shrugged, "I'll do what I can!"   
"Not good enough," Jeff muttered as he chased Jamie to a back door marked "Maintenance, Employees Only", in big red letters. Jamie easily let Melanie down off his shoulder.   
"I'm not enough of a jerk to hurt a pregnant woman," Jamie said calmly. Jeff skidded to a stop when he saw Melanie sitting in a heap next to the Maintenance, Employees Only door. Jeff knelt down beside Melanie and gently touched her cheek.  
"Are you okay Mel? He didn't hurt you did he?"   
She shook her head no, in bewilderment, " 'He said he wasn't enough of jerk to hurt a pregnant woman.' "   
"Well, it's nice to know he has some standards," Jeff said sarcastically. "Stay here," Jeff commanded.   
Melanie grabbed his arm, "Jeff, he's headed up to the catwalk, you can't go up there!"   
Jeff shrugged, "I have to, he's not getting away this time! Chris called the police, so don't worry, I'll be okay!" Jeff flung over his shoulder as he closed the Employees Only door behind him.  
  
Meanwhile, back inside the locker room:  
"What! Jeff went after Jamie himself, that's insane!" Amy cried, grabbing a hold of Chris's shoulders. "I'm going after him, who knows what Jamie is capable of. Jeff could get hurt."  
"Whoa Amy, you can't go out there, Matt and Jeff will kill me," Chris groaned.   
"Tough, tell Matt where I am," Amy said, a look of determination on her face, as she disappeared behind the curtain leading to the ring. Just then, Matt and Chris Benoit raced up to Chris Jericho.   
"Where's Amy?" Matt asked tensely.   
"She just went after Jeff- who is up on the catwalk with Jamie," Chris responded reluctantly. "I've already called"...   
Matt cut him off, "What! I told her to stay put, when is she ever going to listen to me!" Matt said angrily as he pushed the curtain aside.   
"How about never," Chris quipped.   
Matt narrowed his eyes as he spotted Amy among the throng of people and took off after her.   
"Where is Melanie?" Chris Benoit demanded.   
"She's okay," Chris assured him. Jeff wanted me to call the police first , so I"...  
"Take me to her," Chris Benoit demanded roughly.   
Amy made her way up the winding staircase until she reached the catwalk. Amy let out of gasp of fear as she saw Jamie pull a knife out of his jacket and brandish it wildly in front of Jeff's face. Amy would have screamed, but fearing it might cause Jeff to get hurt, kept her mouth shut. As Amy raced across the catwalk, it swayed wildly beneath her. She didn't dare look down.   
"Jamie leave him alone, it's me you want!" Amy yelled. Amy slowly stepped closer. Amy glanced quickly at Jeff, who was looking at her like she was crazy.   
"Darn right, you're the one I want!" Jamie exclaimed.   
"Well, you're not getting her!" a voice from behind Amy growled. Matt pushed Amy out of the way and into Jeff, making the catwalk sway wildly. Matt charged at Jamie, but Jamie was ready for him. Jamie wrapped both arms around Matt's waist and tossed him over the edge.   
"Matt!" Amy screamed, clapping both hands to her mouth. The audience screamed in horror. They had been watching for several minutes now, thanks to a cameraman in the electrical booth turning on one of the cameras in the rafters. The audience thought this was all part of the show-until now. Amy breathed a sigh of relief when she saw Matt had landed on one of the gigantic speakers that was suspended high above the stage. Matt hung on for dear life, he had never been afraid of heights until now. Jamie turned away from Matt and focused his attention on Amy.  
"Amy dear, do you have any idea what you have done to me, I'm scarred for life because of you!" Jamie screamed at her. He pulled off his ski mask. "Look, look at what you've done to me!" Amy bit her lip in horror and Jeff couldn't help but stare at him in shock. The whole left side of his face was pale and shriveled up due to second degree burns. Jamie lifted his shirt up where Amy and Jeff could also see his skin, discolored and disfigured, along the left side of his chest and rib cage.  
"I burned down that gym for you, to win your affection, but I got caught in the fire and no one came to help me! Absolutely no one! I thought you of all people might come to my rescue or at least try to find out what happened to me, but no, oh no, I wasn't good enough for you!" Amy just stared at him, speechless, sorrow written all over her face.   
Finally, finding her voice, Amy spoke quietly, "Jamie, don't you see, burning down buildings wasn't the way to earn my affection, just being kind and sweet would have been enough. "  
Below them, Matt thought, *That's right Amy-girl, keep him talking.* His thoughts broke off abruptly as he heard a snap sound loudly above him. He looked up in horror to see the cable not too slowly unraveling. He squeezed his eyes shut and started swinging the speaker back and forth, aiming for the stronger row of heavy duty lights across from him. On the last swing he managed to wrap his arms around the square light fixture, his feet dangling in mid air. Just as he wrapped his feet around the light fixture, he heard a loud snap to his left and watched, transfixed, as the speaker hurtled towards the wrestling ring. Below them, the crowd gasped in horror. Matt squeezed his eyes tightly shut, thankful that wasn't him down there. Amy closed her eyes for a split second, hoping that Matt was okay, after that gasp of horror she just heard from the crowd below.   
Jamie slowly lowered his knife, looking confused, "But I tried that with you, it never worked," Jamie whined pitifully. Out of the corner of her eye, Amy slowly saw Jeff inch toward him.   
Regaining her courage, Amy took a deep breath and continued, "Yes, it did work Jamie, but then you changed, and you became cruel." Jeff pounced on him, knocking the knife out of his hand.   
"Ahh!" Jamie screamed, as he slipped, crashing through the barrier at the end of the catwalk. Jamie fell over the edge, taking Jeff with him. Clinging to the gate with his fingertips, Jamie hung on for dear life, while Jeff's feet dangled over the edge, several stories above the ring, with only Jamie's legs keeping him alive.   
"Jeff," she screamed, "hang on!"   
"Believe me, I intend to!" Jeff said through gritted teeth. Amy grabbed a hold of Jamie's forearms, just as two large hands grabbed a hold of her waist. She let out a scream of bloody murder.   
"It's alright Ma'am, relax, we've got you," a voice laced with an Irish accent, said reassuringly. Amy craned her neck around to see three blue coated police officers right behind her.   
The Irish one continued, "We are going to lower you down to make sure you bring those two boys up okay." Amy nodded and slowly but surely brought up Jamie and Jeff onto solid footing once again. Or considering they were on a flimsy, metal platform suspended several stories above the arena, as solid a footing as you could get. The police handcuffed a sullen Jamie and led him away, while Amy hugged Jeff tightly.   
Jeff reassured her, "I'm okay hon, really, I'm alright. I'm worried about you though. Are you okay?" he asked, gently pulling her away from him and looking worriedly into her hazel eyes.   
"Yea, yea, I'm okay," she said sniffling. Her feelings betraying her though, she wrapped her arms around Jeff, clinging to him tightly.   
"I didn't think you were," Jeff said quietly, as he held Amy tightly in his arms, stroking her hair softly.   
"Guys, just in case you didn't notice, I am still alive and want to stay that way," they heard Matt say angrily from below them.   
"Matt!" Amy exclaimed, rushing over to the railing, "hang on, Jeff and I will pull you up." Both Amy and Jeff extended their arms over the railing, "We're going to need you to stand up on the light fixture though and hold onto the cable," Amy instructed.   
"What! Are you out of your mind, I can't... Never mind," he grumbled. Within minutes, they had Matt up on solid ground again. Matt and Jeff each put an arm around Amy's waist as she put an arm around both Matt and Jeff's waist. They crowded together in a hug, there heads together.   
"Three extreme," she whispered.   
  



	10. Epilogue-Together Again

All of the people in this story are owned by Vince McMahon and the WWF, except for Melanie, Uncle Wes, Michael and Monica and Jamie.  
  
If you would like to use my story, please ask me first.  
  
Please review, I love feedback! Constructive criticism is fine, but   
no flames please.  
  
Epilogue: Together Again  
  
Four days later, Friday evening:  
The Hardys, Amy, Monica, Nora, Jessica, Chris J., Chris B., Melanie, Stephanie, Paul, Trish and Andrew were all gathered around the fireplace in Matt and Jeff's living room.   
"Life dealt you a hard ride this time," Paul stated. Leaning back on the sofa cushions he put his arm around Stephanie.   
"Tell us about it," Jeff said, giving Nora a gentle kiss on the forehead as he put his arm around her shoulders.   
"What is going to happen to Jamie?" Stephanie asked, linking her fingers through Paul's.   
"Well, right now, he's in jail, and from there, he'll be going through a program similar to Scared Straight, except instead of talking to teens, hardened criminals will be talking to adults like him. Some of the criminals that we'll be drilling information into Jamie are sitting on death row for murder. After he goes through that program, the state of Florida is planning on sending him to a rehabilitative institution for addicts, including: drugs, alcohol, kleptomaniacs, pyromaniacs, etc. Then he'll be sent back to prison for another ten years. Given Florida's liberal prison system and all the political loopholes, he'll probably be out in less time," Amy said ruefully. Hopefully though, through all of it, he will get the help he needs, and maybe, one day he will lead a decent life." Matt felt Amy shiver beside him and he knew this was going to be difficult time for her. Matt took her hand in between both of his and rubbed them gently. "I'm here for you Amy, you know that," he said softly to her. "We all are."  
"I know," Amy said with a small smile, covering both his hands with her hand.   
"So, I heard that you were stuck on a light fixture almost the whole time the action was going on," Chris said with a wicked grin.   
Matt blushed a bright red.  
"No need to say any more Matt, I just wanted to see you squirm." Jessica knocked the grin off her husband's face when she hit him in the face with a pillow.   
"Actually something good did come out of all this," Amy said, a slow smile spreading across her face. "We received such a positive response from the audience when I hugged Jeff and when Matt, Jeff and I hugged, that the creative writers have decided to put us back together. Starting next Monday, we are once again Team Extreme!" A chorus of hollering and whooping went through the group.  
Monica leaned forward, putting her elbows on her knees, "So, how did the doctor's visit go Jessica?" Monica asked excitedly.   
"Well, actually," Jessica said, smiling, "Chris would you like to do the honors?"  
"This ride we call life, is about to get a bit more interesting, we're going to be the proud parents of twins!" Chris yelled happily. Matt watched in a fog as Melanie pulled herself out of Chris Benoit's arms, leaned forward and gave Jessica a hug.   
"I'm so happy for you!" Melanie's voice faded away as Matt watched Amy turn on that one-thousand watt smile of hers, showing her dimples as she gave Chris and Jessica a hug. Amy pulled back, laughing. Matt envisioned himself with the gorgeous woman sitting next to him, by his side, for as long as he may live, maybe having children of their own, a family. Matt smiled. *Is this what I want?* Nodding, his heart knew the answer.  
  
I'd love to know what you think?!  
Want a sequel? Let me know!   
Thanks!  



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